Semiconductor giant Intel formed a partnership with top Internet software makers to create a standard set of Web tools for office workers to share information with colleagues, a Reuters report said.
The Reuters report quoted Intel as saying that it is aiming to take the excitement of Internet sites like Wikipedia, MySpace and YouTube into the business world.
Intel is working with makers of commercial blogs, wikis and syndicated news feeds to create SuiteTwo, a complete package of 'Web 2.0' business work group collaboration tools, the report said.
Web 2.0 is the term Internet industry insiders use to describe software that makes it easier for users to publish and share information among themselves, in contrast to more passive ways of using the Web that earlier software tools encouraged.
The Intel partnership offers small businesses and work groups inside larger companies 'Web 2.0 in a box,' by improving on internal and external communication systems, the report said.
SuiteTwo is set to be released early in 2007, said Lisa Lampert, managing director of Intel Capital's Software and Solutions Group.
Intel's partners include Six Apart, a leading maker of blog publishing software, Socialtext, a provider of a form of group blogging software known as wikis, and NewsGator and SimpleFeed, providers of instantly updated news feeds. SpikeSource packages the software and provides technical support.
Socialtext said SuiteTwo will cost a business $175 to $200 a year per user, or about $15 to $17 per month.
Intel Capital, the venture capital arm of the semiconductor maker, assembled the group, the report said.