TWO of the largest players in the computer business signed an interesting agreement during the week, which could have a huge impact on the business use of the Internet.

Intel Corp Microsoft both of which have substantial operations in Ireland have agreed a licensing pact to develop technology to allow multimedia voice, video, and data conferencing calls on the Internet.

Microsoft is to include the new technology in a new release of its NetMeeting software, which will be included in future versions of its Windows operating system, thus bringing it to millions of desktops. Intel will include the conferencing capabilities in future products, and will work to integrate the technology into the basic personal computer platform.

The premise is simple why make a long distance phone call when a local call to an internet service provider can patch you anywhere in the world for a video conferencing.

The two companies will jointly promote their standards and should they succeed, phone companies including Telecom Eireann could be counting the cost.