Microsoft Corp. today released the predictions of its Office Information Worker Board of the Future, a group of 12 university students representing 10 countries who gathered here last week to debate technology trends, interpret research data and share their perspectives on the imperatives for information technology (IT) in the next decade.

The three-day conference, first held last year at Microsoft headquarters in the United States, was created to give students a unique opportunity to offer their insights to the world�s leading software maker while providing Microsoft with perspectives from highly accomplished and motivated members of the �NetGen,� the first generation of people who have grown up with computing and the Internet as a normal part of life.

�One billion people around the world are getting ready to enter the work force, so engaging with these young people is an important component of our product planning,� said Wolfgang Ebermann, general manager of Microsoft�s Information Worker business group in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. �We can continue to be a leading innovator in productivity software only if we listen to their opinions about how they would like the technology to evolve. And from what they�ve told us, there is no shortage of work to be done.�