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Los Angeles –Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) this week launched its new Windows Live Framework and new Office Web applications as part of its next version of Office, codenamed Office 14, to bridge end-user experiences with the Web, phone and PC.

In his keynote at the company's Professional Developers Conference, Ray Ozzie, Microsoft's chief software architect, said that the Web, phone and PC have all become part of an individual's daily personal computing experience. The PC, he said, is adapting to now become more relevant so that it works and centres around the Web.

“The PC is an unparalleled high performance, personal information management device,” he said. “Through the power of the Web, the Internet has become our common meeting place to connect, communicate, transact and share. When the PC, phone and Web are bridged together, they're far more valuable to users than when they're apart.”

As part of Microsoft's new Windows Azure platform and its Azure Services offerings, both of which were announced this week, Microsoft also unveiled its Live Framework. David Treadwell, corporate vice-president of Live Platform Services at Microsoft, said Live Framework is a way for developers and customers to access its Live Services.

“Live Services is part of the Azure platform that works to connect people, devices and applications,” Treadwell said. “Users have data in lots of different places and it's often difficult to integrate all of (those) different devices together.”

This was why, he said, Microsoft introduced its Live Mesh software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform offering, as part of Live Services, six months ago. With Live Mesh, users are able to connect their PCs and other devices with each other via the Internet. Developers also have the opportunity to create, build and work with applications that integrate either on a local client, or in the cloud.

Microsoft's Live Framework utilizes a live operating environment and programming model that provides users with a way to get at Live Services. It's a consistent, open and interoperable framework that supports the PC, phone and the Web, Treadwell said.

The company also used the conference to announce new Web applications for Office 14 . Customers have very different work styles, said Takeshi Numoto, general manager for Microsoft Office at Microsoft. Because of this, users want to be able to collaborate with each other and with their information without boundaries and in a seamless manner, he continued.

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