Microsoft seekspartners for MSN 8 launch
Reuters | at | by Mike
Microsoft is looking for Internet access partners in Europe, Middle East and Africa to forge distribution relationships for the forthcoming launch of its subscription-based Web browser MSN 8. The U.S. software giant says its strategy to partner ISPs, which will be asked to bundle MSN 8 in their Internet access packages, will bring its loss-making MSN unit into the black. MSN 8 will come equipped with a spam email filter, parental controls, digital photo editing software and an enhanced web browser, the company said.
"This is yet another move toward making the Internet a pay zone," said Kai Kaufmann, an Internet analyst at Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, who was given a briefing on MSN 8. "I think Microsoft can succeed."