Microsoft Corp. says that the next version of its Windows operating system will have built-in support for RSS, an increasingly popular way to get news and other information channeled straight to a computer.

RSS, short for Really Simple Syndication, hasnt broken into widespread use yet, but the worlds largest software maker believes it will become a mainstay.

We really believe that RSS is key to how people will be using the Internet in the future, said Megan Kidd, a Windows product manager.

In the long-delayed Windows upgrade, code-named Vista and expected to be released late next year, an RSS icon will appear in the Internet Explorer Web browser to make it easy for people to find, much like Apple Computer Inc. has done with its Safari browser.

Vista will store all data downloaded to a computer via RSS in a single place. It will maintain a central list of all of a computer users RSS subscriptions, from Web log entries to photos pulled from an online family picture gallery.

It will include a feature called simple list extensions that will let Web sites use RSS to publish lists of content that users can subscribe to, like a weekly run-down of chart-topping songs or an online gift registry.

Microsoft will make the list extensions technology available for free through a creative commons license, which lets the company retain some intellectual property rights while encouraging broader use of the technology.

Joe Wilcox, an analyst with Jupiter Research, said Microsofts foray into RSS is reminiscent of its rush to capture its share of the burgeoning Web browser market in the mid-1990s.

With the World Wide Web, we had this vast informational system that came along where Windows was not required, Wilcox said. That posed a potentially serious threat to Microsofts Windows franchise. They responded by making Internet Explorer part of the operating system.

Microsoft may argue that its RSS push is about improving technology for developers, content providers and consumers, Wilcox said, but its also, I believe, responding to a potential competitive threat.

Having RSS built into Vista could pose a serious threat to companies that sell RSS readers that siphon data from the Internet. But Kidd contends that Microsoft isnt out to put anyone out of business.

Ken Savage is a Webmaster employee who writes about what is going on in the Tech industry usually days before it breaks to the rest of the world. He can be found at http://www.kensavage.com