Oslo

Talk about an image problem. For weeks, newspapers around the world have carried stories about dairy-poisoned babies -- at least six have died, and 300,000 have been sickened -- and chronicled how milk, eggs, soy-based foods, and even candy bars containing ingredients from China have been contaminated with melamine, an industrial chemical used in plastics and fertilizers.

Microsoft is preparing to release new details about its Oslo modeling development platform. The company said Friday that it will offer a preview of the platform at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference in Los Angeles on Oct. 27.

New details emerging before the conference include a declarative modeling language code-named M and a software development tool code-named Quadrant. The preview will also demonstrate a repository for integration between models. Microsoft said it is looking for user feedback to help outline the road map for Oslo technologies.

Software giant Microsoft is not saddled with subprime mortgages, nor is it a bank threatened by a run of angry depositors. Nonetheless, the financial crisis currently roiling Wall Street is being felt in Redmond, Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer said, and Congress needs to take action.

Ballmer made his comments at a conference in Oslo, Norway, where he announced the formation of new research and development centers for business-oriented search tools. Microsoft recently spent $1.2 billion to purchase Fast Search and Transfer ASA, a Norwegian company that will form the core of the new venture.