online versions

Electronic Arts Inc. is turning to online games to boost its limited presence in Asia, the Asia president of the U.S. video game maker said Tuesday.

EA's main business in the West comes from packaged games software for consoles and personal computers, but online games are more popular in Asia, EA President for Asia Jon Niermann told The Associated Press in an interview.

"It's night and day," Niermann.

Niermann was attending the launch of "Need for Speed Undercover," which features a character played by actress Maggie Q.

At the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in Houston this month, attendees received new details about the software giant's push into the realm of SaaS (software as a service).

Tailored to meet the needs of an entire workforce, the Microsoft Online Services platform is designed to delivers enterprise-class software to businesses of all sizes -- from employees using a PC infrequently to information workers in need of more advanced capabilities, said Stephen Elop, president of the Microsoft Business Division.