Microsoft to Release Instant-Messaging Code

Microsoft Corp. turned up the heat in its instant-messaging battle with America Online Inc., pledging to release MSN Messenger software code this month in a step toward establishing a widely accepted Internet standard. The decision was welcomed by the Internet Engineering Task Force, which has been working for two years to agree on a universal standard for the hugely popular way to communicate over the Internet. America Online is by far the dominant player in instant messaging, with more than 80 million users of its two systems, compared with about 5 million for No. 2. Tribal Voice Inc. and 1.3 million for MSN Messenger, launched last month. Separately, Microsoft announced that three online companies have backed its instant-messaging standard. Prodigy Communications Corp., an Internet service provider, and PeopleLink, a Web site that caters to community groups, will offer instant messaging that links to MSN Messenger. Tribal Voice, which supplies instant-messaging software, will support Microsoft standards. Instant messaging lets users chat in real time over the Web. Shares of Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft rose 44 cents to close at $85 on Nasdaq, and shares of Dulles, Va.-based AOL rose $1.69 to close at $99.19 on the New York Stock Exchange.