Cast your mind back to earlier this year, do you remember when a rumour about operators threatening to ban the Nokia N97 because it would ship with Skype was circulating? All a flash in the pan of course, because what's to stop you downloading the Skype app for free after you've bought it?

Anyway, 3 has announced that it will sell the Nokia N97 and will even pre-load its own Skype widget. Check out the details of the Nokia N97 on 3 with Skype onboard....

The Nokia N97 is the new flagship device and more than lives up to expectations. Check out our full review of the Nokia N97 for more confirmation.

It's been on sale in Nokia Stores for the last week and is now being rolled out by operators. The latest is 3, who is offering the Nokia N97 on a range of deals, starting fro just £35 a month with a 18 month contract. Nothing out of the ordinary there you may think but 3 will include a pre-embedded Skype app that allows free Skype-to-Skype calls and instant messaging using Windows Live!

If that's not enough, you can also get the Nokia N97 on PAYG. For £320 (inc. VAT) you’ll be able to get your hands on the Nokia N97 and depending on the amount you top up, will depend on the benefits you’ll get. However, the most common seems to be 90 days of free Voicemail, 150MB of internet usage and free Skype for life, as well as Windows Live Messenger.

The Nokia N97 on 3 is ready for order today but we've spotted on the website that devices won't be shipping until 3rd July at the earliest.