I recently got an account with Google Voice and right off the bat I was stuck figuring out exactly how to use it properly since I really didn't want to confuse my friends and family by giving them yet another number for me. Then I had the idea of easing into it by using my new number as a comment line for one of my podcasts. I used to utilize a service called K7.net for this purpose. Unfortunately for me the K7.net service gave my number to someone else after a certain period of inactivity. At that point I abandoned the idea of the comment line.

Google Voice has some pretty nice features that make the comment line feasible again. All messages are encoded to mp3 files which can easily be integrated in future podcast recordings. There's an embed code for audio messages as well so individual messages can be strategically placed on a website. Finally, there's also a call widget feature that allows you to put a "click to call" button on your website.

You could also use Google Voice as a mobile podcast recorder if you call your own number from a cell phone and record a message for later use in an audio show. The quality won't be that great but it will likely get the job done. One thing I'm not sure of is if there is a time limit on voicemail messages.

Given all the other nice features of Google Voice, like automatic transcription of messages and multiple customizable voicemail messages to name a couple, I can't see a downside for podcasters who want to have an official show phone number that doesn't clash with their existing home or cell phone numbers. Did I mention that Google Voice is free too?

Update: Google Voice help says that voice mail messages may be up to three minutes long.