AOL announced, as a special gift this Mother’s Day weekend, that calls made using the AIM Call Out service (http://call.aim.com ) on Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11 will be free. To get started, users must set up an AIM Call Out account and add at least $5 in non-refundable call credit. Users can then make as many calls as they want to more than 200 countries and will still have $5 to spend at the end of the free calls weekend.

Between 6 a.m. EDT on Saturday, May 10th and 4 a.m. EDT on Monday, May 12th, the free calls can be made.

Users must have a free AIM screenname and use version 6.5 or higher of the AIM service which can be downloaded for free at http://www.aim.com . Just click on the telephone icon at the base of the AIM Buddy List to get started, once you have launched AIM.

Using a headset or with a microphone and speakers, users can talk with their moms. Using the Web Connect feature within AIM Call Out, users can also make phone-to-phone calls. Users simply enter their phone number and then the phone number of their mom. Their phone will ring in a few seconds, and then connect them to their mom’s phone.

For the duration of the promotion, users will not be able to make free calls to Croatia, Comoros, Brunei, Egypt, Ghana, Myanmar, Morocco, Oman and Zaire. Including Inmarsat, Thuraya and Iridium, users will continue to be charged for calls to satellite services.

Built right into AIM, AIM Call Out is a pay-as-you-go outbound voice calling service that lets users make calls to landline and mobile phones. With no connection fee or monthly charge, AIM Call Out offers low per-minute rates. Users pay for call credits in increments as low as $5.