With Windows 2000 and the next version of Exchange still on the horizon, Microsoft Corp. (MSFT) has decided to roll out another service pack for the current version of its messaging and groupware server.

Service Pack 2 for Exchange 5.5, due to ship by month's end, includes bug fixes; improved S/MIME and calendaring support for Microsoft's Outlook client for the Macintosh; the Inter Org Replication Utility for replicating public folders and scheduling data between disparate Exchange servers; and the Move Server Wizard for reconfiguring Exchange organizations and moving servers between sites and organizations, officials said.

Service Pack 2 also incorporates migration and coexistence tools for users of Lotus Development Corp.'s cc:Mail and Notes who want to move to Exchange.

Meanwhile, the next version of Exchange, code-named Platinum and dependent on the release of Windows 2000, has not yet entered public beta testing. A "preview" of Platinum was recently released to a small number of customers and Microsoft employees. It will be available 90 to 120 days after Windows 2000, Microsoft officials have said.

Separately, Microsoft will release by the end of the month Web migration and coexistence utilities for users of IBM's OfficeVision/VM, Novell Inc.'s GroupWise, and other LDAP (Lightweight Directory Access Protocol) or IMAP (Internet Messaging Access Protocol) based messaging systems.

Service Pack 2 for Exchange 5.5 and other migration utilities will be available at www.backoffice.microsoft.com/downtrial/default.asp. The Service Pack 2 for Exchange 5.5 CD version will be available for $14.95.

Microsoft is at www.microsoft.com.