Microsoft's digital diva silenced

Microsoft has closed digitaldiva.com, its so-called digital lifestyle advisory site, following a legal complaint from a group of female web professionals which has been using a similar name since 1997.

The software giant launched the service, which is spearheaded by its acclaimed digital diva Stacy Elliot, last April. The site is aimed at eliminating hi-tech jargon and explains IT trends and issues in laymen's terms.

But Microsoft was soon asked to stop using the name by Digital Divas, a group of web executives which has been offering a similar service on its digitaldivas.com site for three years.

The two groups announced this week that they are at the final stages of reaching a settlement. Microsoft has already agreed to stop using the phrase 'digital diva' and its associated URL, and the Digital Divas have agreed to remove the "inflammatory materials" from its website that were part of its 'Diva and Goliath' campaign aimed squarely at Microsoft.

Mark Marderosian, an attorney for the Digital Divas, said: "Companies like Microsoft, that thrive on high market visibility and have unlimited resources, seldom capitulate in disputes of this nature without a long, nasty fight."

"We are thrilled with the result and very impressed with Microsoft's willingness to be reasonable about this issue," he added.

A Microsoft spokesman said that the site had been closed for almost two weeks and that a new domain name will be announced soon. The site's content focus will remain the same, however.

He added that although Microsoft believed it was in a strong position legally, it had decided not to fight the case. "We were very interested to reach a settlement because it is not important what we call the programme. What is important is whether there is such a resource for customers," he explained.