AOL snubs Microsoft Passport

Liberty proves a more attractive option...

AOL has joined the Liberty Alliance, the authentication system for web services and rival to Microsoft's controversial Passport system. There are very few details available about the Alliance at the moment, though it has previously said it will publish a product draft before the end of the year. Microsoft's Passport lets people register a single user name and log-in, which can then be used to access different sites and services without having to log-in again. Microsoft has also said it is planning to use Passport as the basis of a payment system. AOL's Screen Name and QuickCheckout authentication and digital wallet products have been suggested as early implementations of Liberty. The Liberty Alliance was set up in late September by Sun and it was soon joined by the Finnish technology giant Nokia.