Microsoft plans web software push

Microsoft will take another step forward this week in its attempt to dominate the growing market for online applications.

The growing popularity of web-based software was a key theme last year, with Microsoft launching its Windows Live platform in an attempt to compete with a string of Web 2.0 start-ups and the might of Google. We're expecting to get a Live update from Microsoft on Wednesday; and with Google also keen to push into the enterprise web services space, this could remain a hot topic for a while.

MPs and academics will be examining the impact of consumer electronics on Wednesday morning, at a Westminster eForum seminar titled The eConsumer. Margaret Hodge MP, minister of state for industry and the regions, will lead a debate on the impact of the convergence between technology and the media.

Also in Parliament, the question of whether Wi-Fi is a danger to public health will be aired. Dr George Carlo, an epidemiologist who researched mobile phones in the 1990s, will give a speech titled Combating the dangers of wireless technology. Phone masts, mobile phones, Wi-Fi. Last year, many ZDNet UK readers took issue with claims that Wi-Fi was damaging people's health, so we'll be at Parliament to report on Carlo's speech on Thursday.

Tech companies, analysts and journalists will gather in Evian on Wednesday evening for this year's NetEvents European Press Summit. Network security, virtualisation and next-generation networks should all be hot topics, with experts from Gartner, the Yankee Group and Current Analysis all scheduled to speak.

And, with meetings planned with David Gee, HP's head of worldwide marketing for software, and Matt Deacon, architect in the developer and platform evangelism group at Microsoft UK, ZDNet UK will be bringing you the very latest insights into the software world this week.