Microsoft has recently been an active participant in Internet and Web groups that have developed standards so that data can be shared by different software programs. That allows the information about a person or bank account, say, to be exchanged, but the digital equivalent of the envelope carrying the information can be proprietary.
In a report presented at the World Bank on Friday, a group that includes senior government officials from 13 countries urged nations to adopt open information technology standards as a vital step to accelerate economic growth, efficiency and innovation.
The group’s work was coordinated by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at the Harvard Law School, and the report is called a “road map” for helping develop national policies on open technology standards.