Microsoft inks deal with StarHub

According to Microsoft Asia vice president Michael Rawding, StarHub Internet will be providing hosting facilities for Microsoft's SharePoint Team Service, an Office XP feature that allows workgroups to share and publish documents on a Web site.

He was speaking to a crowd of over 2,200 customers and members of the media at the official launch of Office XP in Singapore this morning.

According to StarHub Internet general manager Kyong Yu, the service will be launched by the middle of next month, and pricing details will be announced on July 1.

"In the US, the ISP that is partnering Microsoft for the SharePoint Team Service charges about S$39...Although we have not finalized our pricing, we expect to roll out the service next month at under S$30 per month," a StarHub spokesperson said at the sidelines of the event.

Interested parties can, however, pre-register for the service by calling StarHub Internet's customer hotline at 825 7500 or by visiting its Web site.

Besides offering hosting facilities, StarHub and Microsoft will be working together to offer customers an option to pay for the Office XP suite in monthly installments.

Instead of paying the full amount for the Office XP suite upfront (the price ranges from S$449 to S$1,059, depending on the edition), customers will be able to pay for the software in their monthly Internet services bills, said Yu.