Next week Microsoft Corp. will kick off Microsoft� Worldwide Partner Conference 2005, an annual event focused on helping Microsoft�s global partner community achieve business success. The three-day gathering is designed to provide value added-resellers (VARs), independent software vendors (ISVs), system builders, system integrators and other Microsoft partners with valuable business resources. Those resources include training and in-depth information on Microsoft technologies, strategies to enhance continued business success, and networking opportunities with the 10,000 attendees including 6,500 Microsoft industry partners and other company leaders, sales and marketing executives, and solution architects. The sold-out conference, expected to be the largest Microsoft Worldwide Partner conference to date, will take place Friday, July 8, through Sunday, July 10, at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis.

Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference 2005 will serve as the launch pad for a number of new initiatives, partner programs, and technology and product announcements critical to partner opportunity and success over the coming year. The conference will feature keynote speeches by leading Microsoft executives focused on key areas for partner business opportunity and growth, including technical, marketing and sales enablement benefits, tools and investment, and core product and technology road maps. More information can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/partner/events/wwpartnerconference/default.htm.