e device owners running Windows Phone Classic (i.e. any version of Windows Mobile OS) will no longer be able to download Skype.

The company has just announced that it has removed Skype () for Windows Phones and Skype Lite from its mobile site. The announcement was made this morning in a blog post addressing changes to Skype’s mobile lineup. The post states:

“As part of our continual review of our mobile range, we’ve decided to make a few changes to our lineup. Skype Lite and Skype for Windows Phones are no longer available for download.”

Users who have already downloaded the applications can continue to use them as usual, though they should operate under the notion that these applications offer a sub-par Skype experience.

Skype speaks to the challenges associated with supporting multiple handsets on multiple carriers as the primary reason for the drastic move. As for Skype Lite — a lightweight version of Skype for non-smartphones — the application’s limitations around supported countries and call rates were the contributing factors to its demise.

Right now there’s no word on Skype’s plans to support devices running the Windows () operating system moving forward, but we’ve e-mailed for comment and will update this post when we know more.

With Windows Phones 7 not scheduled to come on the market until the end of 2010, though, this latest decision could mean that there will be an extended period of time during which Skype for Windows Phones will simply be unavailable.