Microsoft plans to roll out the new Windows Live services, which will include a revamped e-mail, calendar and a new photo application, in the United States over the coming weeks and then make it available in 54 countries early next year.

FILL IN THE SEAMS

In this third major release of Microsoft's Windows Live services, Microsoft said it aims to fill in the seams between its different Web services to create a unified experience.

Brian Hall, general manager of Windows Live, pointed to Microsoft's Outlook application, which brought together e-mail, calendar and contacts programs into a single integrated software suite, as a model for how it wanted to tie together a loose network of Web services.

He also noted that the latest Windows Live release is focused on creating a more polished user experience, which, in the past, may have been sacrificed in order to get new programs out quicker.

Other new services include an online movie maker program, a "groups" service that allows a group of users to create a joint calendar, share photos and documents or chat together online. Microsoft also plans to increase the size of its free storage service to 25 gigabytes from 20 GB.

Microsoft boasts more than 460 million Windows Live users and analysts said the goal for the company is to keep that audience in front of the company's websites for as long as possible and to prevent defection to other Web destinations.

"I don't think Microsoft is going to steal a whole lot of eyeballs from Facebook or MySpace," said David Card, research director at Forrester.

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