Never one to back down from a fight, Microsoft has upped its efforts to have its Office Open XML document format made into an international standard. Delegates from 37 countries met on Monday to reconsider the company"s proposal in a meeting hosted by the International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC); the conference is meant to help broker consensus after a preliminary vote on the standard failed six months ago. There will be no ballot during the week-long talks, but the 87 national standards bodies who previously voted will have until March 29 to adjust their positions, giving the world"s largest software maker another shot at the two-thirds majority it needs for approval (MS had previously only won 53% of the vote).
"The ISO/IEC members who voted on the draft in September will have 30 days to change their votes if they wish," said Roger Frost, a spokesman for the Geneva-based agency.