Partnership to develop mobile web services standards
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates will today detail a partnership with mobile operator Vodafone to develop mobile web services standards.
The standards are designed to allow PC developers to incorporate location and micro-payment functions into their applications.
Gates will tell delegates at the ITU Telecom World conference that application developers will start to release beta programmes in the first quarter of next year that will allow cross pollination of mobile and fixed applications.
Through developing mobile web services standards the vendors expect developers to incorporate features of cell phone technology into PC applications.
One example would be enabling PC applications to send text messages from email clients.