Microsoft’s New Web Conferencing – LiveMeeting

Microsoft Corp today announced the release of a new service called Microsoft(R) Office Live Meeting, an online collaboration and Web conferencing service that empowers business people to conduct real-time, interactive presentations and meetings over the Internet. Live Meeting is the first fully hosted service within the new Microsoft Office System, which is scheduled to launch next month and is delivered by PlaceWare Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft.

Web Conferencing is an industry and eMarketing component which has thrived after the bursting of the Internet bubble and is used for industry meetings, web training seminars, and for sales pitch presentation. Unlike its predecessor, the telephone conference call, the Web conference brings with it many of the same interactive benefits of a face-to-face meeting…without the face-to-face part.

Live Meeting offers a native-based desktop console that follows familiar conventions of Windows-based software, making it easy to learn and use, and provides more flexible controls for meeting presenters. The new service also delivers rich, full-screen viewing options for meeting participants and feedback tools such as chat and a question/answer manager to make online meetings more engaging and productive. Subscribers also receive powerful scheduling and administration tools, and the option of customizing the service to include their own branding.

Live Meeting is the first fully hosted service from the new Microsoft Office System, which helps highlight how dramatically different the new Microsoft Office System will be from its well-known predecessor, the Microsoft Office software suite. Live Meeting is a great solution for companies that want to conduct virtual meetings and online events to better communicate and collaborate with geographically dispersed employees, partners, customers and other audiences. The service is a natural fit with Microsoft Office because Office documents are the most frequently shared content in online meetings, and the new Microsoft Office System is specifically designed to better connect people, information and business processes across organizations.

Among its many new features, Live Meeting makes online meetings more engaging and productive through the following:

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