SEATTLE (Reuters) Microsoft (MSFT) will open its online messaging service for the workplace to America Online and Yahoo’s (YHOO) systems, in a big step toward allowing users of different networks to communicate with each other, the companies said on Thursday.
Microsoft, the world’s largest software maker, will open up its instant messaging software used by businesses, but consumers using its free MSN Messenger service will not get the same interoperability, at least for now, said Taylor Collyer, a Microsoft marketing manager.