Microsoft hails success in battle for open document format

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
In an ongoing battle over an international open format document, Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday it has succeeded in winning the necessary support to make its Open XML format internationally the recognized standard for electronic documents. Located in Redmond, the software giant said an unofficial tally of votes by members of two key standard bodies has been posted on the Web, indicating that its application for Open XML to be recognized has been approved. Opendocsociety.org, a Web site belonging to a group supporting the rival format ODF, posted the tally of votes. Voting results could not immediately be confirmed by officials at the International Standards Organization and the International Electrotechnical Commission, which coordinated the approval process. Microsoft has been lobbying hard for Open XML, also known as OOXML, to be recognized by the two Geneva-based bodies. The decision will allow Microsoft to bid for lucrative government contracts that require vendors to use open formats. Supporters of the rival format ODF say Microsoft is not truly committed to providing open access to its standard and have complained of irregularities during the voting process.