Microsoft on Wednesday acknowledged that its .Net plan has been slow to catch on and laid out an agenda to move the software strategy ahead

Microsoft's chairman and chief software architect, Bill Gates, said, "in some respects we are further ahead, and in some respects (we have) not (moved) as fast (as we hoped)" with .Net, which the company introduced two years ago. Gates made his remarks during a daylong conference at Microsoft's headquarters here as the company presented its plans for the .Net architecture. The .Net plan includes new releases of the company's Windows operating system, called Windows .Net Server. It also embraces other server software, along with development tools and a framework to make programs more Internet-aware. One new technology supported by .Net is Web services, which promises to make the linking of internal computer systems, and of systems residing in multiple companies, far easier than with current methods. Although developers and analysts have given .Net high marks for its technical design, some Microsoft customers have called the company's marketing plan confusing. Microsoft largely rebranded existing products under the .Net label but added little new technology. Gates on Wednesday acknowledged that shortcoming.