On Tuesday, Skype launched Skype Qik, an app that allows users to send each other 42-second videos.

Skype owner Microsoft hopes to further extend its influence from computers to mobile devices with the new app.

"Skype Qik is a lightweight, spontaneous, mobile-first video messaging app," said Piero Sierra, director at mobile for Skype.

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Skype Qik is a companion app to Skype's video and audio conferencing software used by over 300 million users.

The mobile-exclusive Skype Qik app is a crucial move for Microsoft, whose luck is closely tied to computers but is attempting to enter the mobile market where there's more room for growth, according to CNET's Stephen Shankland.

Although already ported, the Skype service isn't commonly used on mobile devices. Skype lags behind competitors Apple Facetime, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts and other several text messaging apps designed for quick, frequent message.

Over half of new Skype users join because of the company's mobile programs, but Skype still wants to have a larger market presence.

"It's a desktop service that migrated into mobile, so it's been challenging," Sierra said.

Skype Qik has some features similar to those found in other apps. Users sign up for the service not with their usernames and passwords, but rather with phone numbers, a concept used by messaging applications such as Rakuten's Viber and Facebook's WhatsApp.

Tthe messages disappear after two weeks, a feature similar to Snapchat's "ephemeral" design. Movies have a limited running time, also similar to Twitter's Vine, but Skype Qik's messages are seven times longer.

The Skype division of Microsoft has tried to make the app available to more users, releasing Skpe Qik in 21 different languages for Google's Android, Apple's iOS and Microsoft's Windows Phone.

TagsSkype, Skype Qik, Microsoft Corp., Apple Facetime, FaceTime, Facebook Messenger, Google Hangouts, snapchat, Windows Phone