Question:

Can/Will the final version of NetMeeting have audio conferencing capabilities?  It would be useful to be able to conference call instead of just chatting.  I know a couple other programs (including one free one) have the ability to conference call.

Answer:
Microsoft NetMeeting will only let people use the chat, whiteboard, and application sharing features when in groups. NetMeeting 2.0 will not add the ability to use audio or video in groups.
The H.323 standard that NetMeeting is based on defines support for multi-point (conference) calls.  When vendors will implement that is the beginning of a whole new discussion.

The final version of Netmeeting 2.0 will not support multicast audio. It is and will remain point to point audio.  We are in the planning stages of implementing multi cast audio for the next version of Netmeeting but that is down the road.
I do believe that a good strategy for a solid product implementation is to make sure you have the point-to-point issues addressed before you take on the much more complex issues of a multipoint or conference call.  And while there certainly is demand, there is also tremendous concern for what this type of traffic will do to corporate and public networks.

Quite a bit of work is being done on supplementary products that will help manage the traffic in these environments (in H.323 land, this is know as the Gatekeeper).  The Gatekeeper will serve an important function in making sure that the conferencing traffic on the network doesn't prohibit other work from being accomplished.  A lot of organizations (companies, ISP's ) are not going to be comfortable allowing H.323 conference calls without this type of capability.