REDMOND, Wash. — Sept. 29, 2005 — This week Microsoft Corp. hosts the 2005 MVP Global Summit, which will be attended by the most globally and technologically diverse group of awardees in the 12-year history of the program. Throughout the event, more than 1,500 Microsoft® Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) will have the opportunity to network with peers from more than 70 countries and more than 1,000 Microsoft employees across product, field and services teams. This year’s summit will include awardees from new categories such as Microsoft Dynamics™ and MSN® as well as new countries including Romania, Jamaica, Pakistan and Thailand. The summit provides Microsoft employees representing over 90 technologies with a unique opportunity to connect with these recognized experts in the community while celebrating their technical passion, willingness to help others and truly inspirational spirit.

Today, as part of the celebration, MVPs are taking a break from technical and platform sessions being held across Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters for a day of executive discussions on the company’s road map and next wave of innovation. Keynote speakers include Steve Ballmer, chief executive officer; Jim Allchin, co-president of the Microsoft Platform Products & Services Division; Kevin Johnson, co-president of the Microsoft Platform Products & Services Division; and Lori Moore, corporate vice president of Customer Service and Support.

“The MVP Global Summit is a unique opportunity for Microsoft to embrace and celebrate this inspirational community,” Ballmer said. “As part of our ongoing commitment to this group of incredible individuals, the summit enables Microsoft to show our appreciation to the MVPs for their passion for technology and helping others. Throughout the week, MVPs meet with experts across the company, strengthen their technical knowledge and provide Microsoft with tremendous insight into the evolution of our products, services and customer experiences.”

Scheduled activities during the four-day MVP Global Summit include over 350 sessions in which MVPs can network with peers and Microsoft product groups through interactive technical presentations and demonstrations as well as question-and-answer sessions with key Microsoft executives from across the company. At the MVP Summit Expo, MVPs will connect with additional groups from Microsoft Services, MSDN®, Microsoft Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) Group and the larger technical publishing community. In addition, they will spend time with members of the MVP Program team and share feedback on the latest MVP Program enhancements including direct feedback channels with product teams, customized training and enhanced learning opportunities through the Microsoft MVP Academy. MVPs will also be able to share their thoughts about the newest feature enhancements on their exclusive Web site, which provides them with access to online program features such as downloads, product feedback, private newsgroups and self-managed profiles that are shared across over 50 Microsoft Web sites and represent over 10 million impressions per quarter.

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