Microsoft hasn't said in what products or services it plans to use the Speechify text-to-speech technology, said Marie Ruzzo, a SpeechWorks spokeswoman. Speechify allows text-based information like e-mail, news or other dynamic content to be read to telephone callers automatically. It can also be used in speech-activated systems for conducting transactions by phone. America Online Inc. and Yahoo Inc. have each licensed the technology for use in their phone portals.
Microsoft's release quotes Kai-Fu Lee, vice president of the .NET services group at Microsoft, which would indicate some intent to integrate a Microsoft voice portal into its .NET offerings.
