Microsoft will debut a new e-wallet service Tuesday and plans to phase out its current Passport wallet by March 2003, the company said. The move to a new service under the company's MSN portal will allow Passport to focus on its "core mission" of authentication services, Microsoft said. Passport was supposed to be a central aspect of Microsoft's consumer Web services plan, called .Net My Services. But that project has caused confusion over just how the technology will work, while raising hackles over consumer privacy. Creating a new system to store payment and shipping information could address some of .Net My Services' privacy concerns.
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