REDMOND, Wash. and PARIS -- Bouygues Telecom and Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT - News) today announced collaboration to incorporate Microsoft® Windows Media® technologies progressively in Bouygues Telecom's next-generation mobile music offering set to launch in the first half of 2007. In addition to the service, various Bouygues Telecom handsets will be tailored for the service and include support for core Windows Media technologies including Windows Media Audio, Windows Media Digital Rights Management and Microsoft's Media Transfer Protocol as handset platforms' capabilities evolve. Bouygues Telecom will also evaluate the use of other Windows Media platform components including Windows Media Video, Microsoft's implementation of the SMPTE VC-1 standard, for use in future mobile media initiatives.

"By using Microsoft's proven Windows Media technologies, we meet customers' needs and requests for better integration of their mobile handsets into the home digital ecosystem," said Benoit Louvet, multimedia mobile director at Bouygues Telecom. "With this improvement, mobile handsets will communicate more easily and smoothly with other multimedia devices."

"As a recognized innovator and leading adopter of advanced wireless technologies, Bouygues Telecom's support of the Windows Media platform is a powerful endorsement of Windows Media capabilities in the mobile space. Our collaboration will extend the growing landscape of interoperable devices and scenarios using the Windows Media platform," said Amir Majidimehr, corporate vice president of Windows Digital Media Division at Microsoft. "We're committed to innovating and evolving our digital media technologies in ways that enable our partners to deliver entirely new mobile entertainment offerings."

Using a dual-download approach, Bouygues Telecom will also take advantage of the ability of Windows Media to efficiently deliver content both over the air to mobile handsets and through the Internet to Windows®-based PCs. By adopting Windows Media technology, Bouygues Telecom handsets will be able to play music downloaded from more than 100 online music services around the world, and also support music content ripped from CDs in the highly efficient Windows Media Audio format. In addition, content purchased from Bouygues Telecom's service will be compatible for playback on Windows-based PCs and more than 120 portable media players.

Bouygues Telecom and Microsoft will collaborate to implement Windows Media technologies on Bouygues Telecom's handsets, and on the design and implementation of Bouygues Telecom's dual-download music service to ensure a unified user experience on both the handset and PC.

Bouygues Telecom

Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT)