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Microsoft eyes ID management

Looks like Microsoft is trying again with being the keeper of your identity.

The heart of the Identity System is the XML-based Information Card, which lets users digitally exchange data about themselves with other users or servers. At its most basic, the Information Card is a mechanism for users and organizations to recognize one another, much like today's cell phones display incoming phone numbers as an identifier.

"The Information Card is a recognition infrastructure. It's like a vCard on steroids," said Kim Cameron, architect of directory services for Microsoft. The vCard is an Internet Engineering Task Force standard for an electronic business card. The Information Card goes a step further to add policy and cryptography features. Communication is protected using technologies such as IP Security, Secure Sockets Layer and Web services protocols.

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