Like coaxing a genie out of a bottle, our granddaughter summons us out of the computer.

Two-year-old Loulou  lives in France, but she knows she can see us, with a little help from her parents, if she goes to the computer and calls out, “Nana, DanDan [granddad].”

The built-in web cameras in both our computers let us be part of her daily life, watching her play and flip through books and hearing her chatter in French and English. And it is as interactive as a video game: Loulou and I have played duets on twin ukuleles, taken turns “smelling” her rock collection and played pat-a-cake.

Our family communicates once or twice a week with the webcam, using the MSNLive Messenger program. Our computer came with a built-in camera; all we needed to do was download the program, create an e-mail account and we were off. Many people also use Skype, an alternate program so popular that it is fast becoming a verb — as in, “Have you Skyped today?”

There are several free communication systems in addition to MSNLive Messenger, including Yahoo Messenger and AIM chat. Most new computers now come with built-in cameras, but separate cameras, which attach to a USB port on a computer, are also available.

Anne Mooney-McLoone, a retired child development specialist, sees web cameras as a boon. “This is the best thing that has happened for grandparents. If you can’t get face to face, it’s second best. It’s a way to keep the relationship alive. Anything that puts a picture in their minds is good.”

Older children can make even more use of this technology than we do.

Lorraine McDonald, age 4, communicates with her grandparents, Claude and Nicole Raymond, in French several times a week.

Lorraine chats and plays interactive games, such as Uno, with her grandparents and also uses the drawing component to send drawings to them.

Lorraine’s father, John, jokes that it’s almost as though his in-laws are baby sitting from across the ocean. “I wouldn’t quite put it that way myself, because my parents enjoy very much seeing the kids, but it is definitely helpful for us,” said Lorraine’s mother, Aude  Raymond.

“When they are busy with mamie and papi, we can get things done. It also develops computer skills, not just for the kids, but for the grandparents, too. My parents hadn’t played online games before. I think we are very lucky to have video conferencing to keep in touch,” said Raymond. “Of course, it is not the same as giving a real hug to each other, but it keeps us very close to our loved ones. We can talk, play, read, just be together.”

Sometimes communications are short and sweet: Ewa Rydaker, who lives in Roseville and has four grandchildren in Sweden, recently Skyped with her grandson Carl, who wanted to show off his new soccer uniform.

Grandparents quickly become webcam junkies. Kathy Brewer, who lives in a St. Paul suburb, first saw her grandson, Finn, who lives in Portland, Ore., three years ago via video camera. He was just hours old and crying. She crooned a wordless lullaby to him.

“He stopped crying and appeared to listen,” Brewer said. “We would not have the same kind of close relationship with him if it were not for Skype.” Although they don’t use the video cam as often as they once did, Brewer and her husband watched as Finn unwrapped presents on his second birthday.

Anne Gillespie Lewis is a Minneapolis author.