Today at the Spring 2006 VON Conference & Expo, Microsoft Corp. will outline its vision for extending IP communications capabilities throughout Windows Live� services to support relationship-centric communication via voice and video for consumers worldwide.

Blake Irving, corporate vice president of the MSN Communication Services and Member Platform group, will detail the company�s voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) strategy and vision for Windows Live in his keynote speech Thursday afternoon. Spring VON Expo is the largest VoIP exhibition in the world, with more than 300 companies showcasing their voice-data communications technology and products.

�Our mission with Windows Live is to deepen people�s relationships with whomever and whatever matters most to them,� Irving said. �We will get there by working closely with the whole ecosystem of telecommunications, Internet services and hardware manufacturing partners to build a complete presence- and contact-centric communications experience. Voice and video will play a critical role as a data type that brings relationships to life online, taking us from an era of black and white to Technicolor.�