Some of the youngest employees at Microsoft are getting ready for a public test of a software program they've been working on for 18 months. The group, part of the company's NetGen division, will start beta testing next week on a product called Threedegrees, an instant-messaging program geared at customers aged 13-24. Threedegrees is free, but users will need to have a high-speed Internet connection. Users also will need to have the Windows XP operating system, an update to the system called Service Pack 1, another update called Windows XP Peer-to-Peer Update and the MSN Messenger 5 instant-messaging program. Once those are installed, a user can create online groups of up to 10 people and can be a member of more than one group.
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