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Voicemail is owned and run by phone companies, and thus harder to extend and digitize. It was only recently that visual voicemail became possible, and only because Apple demanded it. I can see the benefits of pulling this out of their grasp, especially in the case that was mentioned (intercontinental communication).

That said, isn't there already a very popular app that does this?

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Yes, there are already apps that let you send shorter voice messages, but you have to have your friends install it first. VoiceGem lets you send as long a message as you want to anyone. They can also listen and reply without signing up, or installing anything.

Interesting. Could Apple replace voicemail with their own system? Eventually they might even be able to merge the phone app into the messages app. Phone calls over wifi, new voicemail etc.

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