Well, the title pretty much sums it up. The Redmond Company is expected to deliver confirmation in the course of today over the opening of its virtualization file format. In this context, Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) Image Format specification will be available for free and in the absence of a license. The terms of Microsoft's Open Specification Promise (OSP) released in September successfully apply to the Redmond Company's virtualization technology.

"This is Microsoft's personal promise to any individuals or organizations in the world that they can use patented technologies that could be in this VHD technology," said Jean Paoli, the manager of interoperability and XML architecture at the software maker.

According to Microsoft, third party developers will be able to create software involving the Virtual Hard Disk format independent of a commercial license with Microsoft.

"This is not an isolated activity--it's part of a broader, well-considered set of activities," stated Tom Robertson, Microsoft's general manager of interoperability and standards. "This fits into our work on giving access to technology. There is general agreement within Microsoft that the direction the company is taking today is absolutely the right direction. But the specific steps we'll take are a matter of discussion, and they're not always easy issues to tackle".