Microsoft Launches Windows Live, Suite Of Online Services

Seattle, WA (AHN) - After spending two years developing and improving it, Microsoft finally launched Windows Live Tuesday, its official package of free desktop programs for e-mail, instant messaging, blogging and sharing photos.

The company has at last removed the 'beta' tag from the suite of programs which are "essentially a free upgrade for Windows", the AP quotes Brian Hall, general manager of Windows Live, saying.

Emphasizing the total package, Seattle Times reports Hall saying: "The key point is that the end-to-end experience is what's finally coming out of beta."

The suite of programs includes Windows Live Mail which will allow users to operate multiple mail accounts, including Yahoo and Google, without opening a browser.

Another feature includes Windows Live Photo Gallery which will enable users to manipulate and organize digital photos and upload them to Flickr, a Yahoo-owned photo-sharing site and to Windows Live Spaces, Microsoft's own blogging and social networking site.

Other programs include Live Writer which is for writing blog posts, Live Messenger which is an instant-messaging program and Live Family Safety which provides parental control for Web surfing at home.

The company is planning one of its largest online campaigns to promote Windows Live. It has planned 10 billion Web ad impressions on Microsoft's MSN and third-party sites, including the social networking site Facebook, in which Microsoft bought a 1.6 percent stake last month.

Tuesday's launch is part of Microsoft's attempt to improve integration of Windows with increasingly popular advertising-funded online services, where it faces stiffer competition.