Microsoft to Buy VoIP Firm

Microsoft(MSFT Quote) is acquiring a small Swiss voice-over-Internet protocol company in a move designed to speed up the software titan's effort to unify different forms of communication online.

Microsoft said Thursday that it has agreed to buy Media-streams.com, a privately held firm in Zurich, Switzerland. Financial terms were not disclosed.

Media-stream's VoIP technology, which enables telephone calls over the Internet, will become a core part of Microsoft's platform that enables workers to use the Web to collaborate on projects. Microsoft envisions such collaboration encompassing several different modes of communication, including email, instant messaging, Web conferencing and telephone calls via the Internet. ...