Microsoft is in talks with several wireless companies in Britain about developing new internet services for mobile phones.
The software group is understood to have held talks with British Telecom and Vodafone about offering mobile services. The initiative is part of its strategy described in September by Paul Gross, senior vice president of Microsoft Mobility, as "investing in relationships with leading operators, so that together we can enable users to access customised corporate services at any time, any place and from any device".
Rick Belluzzo, group vice president, said that the company was actively pursuing partnerships around the world with mobile phone companies.
"We need to do more in wireless and we need partnerships," he told the Guardian. "We're talking to everybody."
Microsoft claims to have the biggest internet network in the world with more than 200m users a month in 33 countries, but its services attract just a few million subscribers compared with 25m who pay to use America Online services.
In June, Microsoft announced a new internet strategy based on offering integrated services online, which it hopes consumers will subscribe to. To kickstart the consumer end of this strategy, the company launched a global marketing effort expected to cost $1bn over the next year.
Its new services will be offered as part of MSN, its consumer website.
Wall Street analysts have been sceptical of Microsoft's efforts given the entrenched subscriber base on AOL, but the company has made it clear that it intends to compete aggressively in every web-based market.
Mr Belluzzo, who carries two web-enabled phones, said: "We will take on AOL in every service." The Microsoft executive spoke to an audience of investors in Monterey this week to "underscore the significant transformation of Microsoft" announced in June.
The company is also talking with News Corporation about a possible $1bn investment in Sky Global, the media group's satellite television division. These talks come after Microsoft has spent billions on investing in cable television companies in Europe which compete with Sky for viewers.
Mr Belluzzo said this apparently contradictory behaviour made sense in the fledgling market for interactive services as few people knew how the industry was going to develop. "Everyone is placing bets everywhere," he admitted.
Mr Belluzzo's presentations to fund managers and analysts in Monterey sought to explain why the company felt that .NET was so important. Microsoft has built its business from selling packaged software from retail shelves.
The new strategy will see a shift towards its customers buying such services, from the Office set of calendars and spreadsheets to Encarta, online.
The company launched its marketing drive after reaching alliances with content providers such as Disney's children's channel.
"The next few months are going to be about taking our brand and awareness to the next level across the globe."
His emphasis on the global nature of MSN was designed to underscore the fact that AOL "is a US play". AOL Europe's efforts have been thwarted by the difficulty of reaching agreements with telecommunications carriers.
