Microsoft to Sabotage the Open Document Format?

Although over the last few weeks, most of the Microsoft-related news has talked about Vista's delay and the multiple bugs recently discovered in Internet Explorer, the Redmond company has its tentacles in some strange places, sparking interesting debates.

According to Groklaw, Microsoft has just joined the International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) that decides if ODF is ready to move forward in the ISO.

In November, Microsoft announced its intention to submit its new Office Open XML file format to the European standards organization, ECMA International.

The Office Open XML file formats will be included in the Office 2007 suite and they will be available to other developers who wish to implement Office Open XML in their own applications and services.

Since Microsoft said that it had no plans to support ODF, many voices are wondering why Microsoft has decided to join INCITS.

A logical explanation is that Microsoft wants to sabotage the ratification process for ODF to give the Open XML format an advantage.

"I wonder if maybe Microsoft is worried it's still not fast enough to beat ODF, because the company has just joined the group in the International Committee for Information Technology Standards (INCITS) that decides if ODF is ready to move forward in the ISO process," Groklaw's Pamela Jones writes.

According to ZDNet, Microsoft denied the accusations and said that Microsoft's presence in the group won't impact the voting process for ODF.