Have you witnessed improper voting practices within standards body?

Followers of the national bodies discussion processes about MSOOXML, taking place before the all-important 4th September vote will already be very aware of the attempts by Microsoft and its partners to unfairly influence national body voting intentions.

Examples already known include:

• committee stuffing, the practice whereby it Microsoft and a number of Microsoft partners, or even new ' companies' with no discernible track record, present themselves to be included in technical reviews,

• an instance of disregarded votes, where majority of individuals voted against acceptance of 00 XML way, but the chair attempted to record a decision in its favour

• and a selection of individuals for senior positions within technical committees, who can only be regarded as Microsoft puppets.

If you have taken part or are participating in technical discussions with the standards bodies, and you have witnessed suspected malpractices by Microsoft and their partners, there is now a website to go to that enables you to document and report your concern.

The more instances the ODF can document, the greater the likelihood of mounting objections to voting malpractices, and the greater the opportunity to build legal cases against Microsoft for the future.

Report your concern without delay, go to www.noooxml.org/forum:start