REDWOOD CITY, Calif. -- Openwave Systems, the worldwide leader of open IP-based communication infrastructure software and applications, today announced its participation in the MMS IOP Group as an associated member. The activities of the newly formed group include facilitation and coordination of MMS interoperability (IOP) testing, problem solving, and the channeling of technical information related to such testing. The results of the group's work will be released to industry standards bodies 3GPP and the WAP Forum to be included in the open standards defined by these bodies. This will assist mobile handset manufacturers and wireless developers in ensuring that MMS applications are compatible, and will result in a more rapid introduction of MMS products to the mobile market. MMS, or Multimedia Messaging Service, supports messages containing text, graphics, photos, audio and video clips across mobile networks. MMS is an open standard approved by the Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) and WAP Forum, to which Openwave has made significant contributions in the development of MMS. "Openwave is committed to open standards when it comes to building products and services. We see cross vendor interoperability as a critical component for aiding in the launch of compelling new messaging services," said Kevin Wagner, director of Technology for Openwave. "Our pledge to industry standards is demonstrated by our deep involvement in and contributions to all of the major open standards bodies in our industry in the effort to grow the mobile market as a whole." Openwave Systems Inc.