Microsoft plans to add to its arsenal of Web services tools on Tuesday, when the company officially unveils Content Management Server 2002. The new product is the third product released this year aimed at aligning companies doing business over the Internet with Microsoft's .Net Web services strategy. The new product accompanies BizTalk Server 2002, Commerce Server 2002--both released this year--and SharePoint Portal Server 2001. But the linchpin for all the products is the trice-delayed Windows .Net Server 2003. Microsoft is expected to issue a second .Net Server 2003 release candidate, or nearly final version, as early as Tuesday.

Microsoft is scheduled to formally announce Content Management Server 2002 at the Microsoft Exchange Conference in Anaheim, Calif., where the company also plans to reveal more details about the next versions of Outlook and Exchange. Microsoft released a test version of Content Management Server 2002 in July. A month later, the Redmond, Wash.-based company zapped three security bugs affecting the new version's predecessor. Microsoft's product competes with Web content management software from Documentum, Interwoven and Vignette, among others.