Is Microsoft Paying To Influence UN Standards?

PizzaFace writes "Microsoft is reported to be spending strategically to influence the United Nations' standards for business data exchange. A UN standards-setting body, UN/CEFACT, and an industry-standards group, OASIS, had developed an open standard format for data interchange, called ebXML. Microsoft hired two people from UN/CEFACT, and a few months later the body decided to stop working on ebXML and instead to work on a Business Collaboration Framework for web services, promoted by Microsoft and IBM. Microsoft then paid for three UN committee members to travel to six countries to promote the BCF."

Comments

Double edged Sword

[ktanmay]

Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft, won praise in January when he trumpeted a company agreement to give $1 billion in software and cash to the United Nations as part of a job-training program for the developing world.

So as a humanitarian, he contributed a very generous sum towards education, but the question now remains, what will the job-training program be pertaining to, MCSE or .NET srvices?
The people get jobs, that helps, but it's only temporary and helps our good friend Mr. Gates strengthen his monopoly.
I don't know, you be the judge.

They were wrong ??

[thrill12]

"This would lead to a "big crunch" where the universe ultimately implodes. "This looks like the least likely scenario at present," says Riess."
This can't be, coz' even Red Dwarf had an episode about that!