Microsoft and US telecommunications company Qualcomm have announced a joint venture which will allow portable devices to connect to computer networks over the mobile phone network.

The move will challenge the recent similar alliance between Psion and Motorola, as the new venture will extend Microsoft's popular Windows CE operating system and BackOffice products into a range of portable devices.

Under the deal, Qualcomm and Microsoft have formed a new company, WirelessKnowledge, whose focus will be to develop software applications and systems for wireless communications of data and voice. These services will allow users to connect to the Internet and their own business networks from digital phones, desktop and laptop computers, two-way pagers, and Internet access terminals, including new products such as "smart" TVs and Web kiosks.

If widely adopted, the new service will allow consumers to access their voice and data information at any time.

The initiative has received the backing of several large US telecommunications carriers who are committed to delivering these services as they are developed. This has been achieved through strategic partnerships with leading wireless carriers, including AirTouch Communications, AT&T Wireless Services, Bell Atlantic Mobile, Sprint PCS and US West Wireless.

Speaking at the announcement, Mr Steve Ballmer, president of Microsoft, said all new services WirelessKnowledge would introduce in the wireless area would leverage existing industry standards and tools. He said, for example, that users could have email read to them from a device embedded in their cars. Another application might report the car's operating characteristics directly to its insurance company. The new company, which is located in San Diego, will initially focus on corporate users, and soon branch into the consumer and small office market. The first commercial products are expected to be available from April next year, and these should include data services to maintain messaging, email, calendaring, contact lists and basic information services on a range of devices through the Internet.

Mr John Major, the president and chief executive officer of WirelessKnowledge, was previously president of Qualcomm's wireless infrastructure business.