Validate that Skype username is in use

Is there a way to validate that a Skype username is valid in a web app? (form validation upon account creation)

By valid, I do not mean by using regular expressions. We can easily check to see if it is 6-22 characters, starts with a letter, etc. I want to verify that either:

1. the username entered actually calls the user inputting it, similar to when we validate email by sending an email with a link to verify it or
2. verify that there exists in the Skype database a user with that username.

I guess you'll have to do exactly what you said: “similar to when we validate email by sending an email with a link to verify it”

I'd dig into Skype4py, you'll find an example of searching for someone.

So you can do:

1. some kind of early validation by searching for that person
2. sending him/her a txt message with a key/link to verify your user

See: need an python script that uses skype4py to send an instant message