Skype video on Ubuntu 9.10

I had solved this long ago but reappeared in my relatively new Ubuntu 9.10 install: Skype (2.1.x) does not show video from my webcam; a usb Logitech QuickCam Pro 5000:

$ lsusb
Bus 001 Device 002: ID 046d:08c5 Logitech, Inc. QuickCam Pro 5000

I tried a few things and it turned out that the solution was something I had found that was supposed to aim a problem with 64bit systems and 32bit libraries. One needs to set the variable LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so. (That's the path in my Ubuntu, it may vary in other system).

Then, to launch Skype, I am using a small script:

#!/bin/bash
LD_PRELOAD=/usr/lib/libv4l/v4l1compat.so skype

for which I also created a menu icon.