The next version of Microsoft Live Communications Server (LCS) will add Web conferencing to the instant messaging, presence features in the current incarnation, sources said.

Thus far, Microsoft has offered Web conferencing as a service in Live Meeting.

The company has been working to converge the Live Meeting and LCS code bases over time although company executives have said they plan to continue to offer both hosted Web conferencing and an on-premises version for companies who want to deploy that way.

Live Meeting, which competes with Webex's hosted conferencing service, came to Microsoft by way of that company's purchase of Placeware three years ago.

Sources close to Microsoft said the upcoming LCS will cover the range of Web-, voice- and video conferencing.

While Microsoft maintains a co-opetitive stance with other communications players, particularly the makers of PBX switches and other networking gear, company insiders say its unified communications push will put it into more contention with these players going forward.

Just weeks ago, Cisco and Microsoft announced a pact to help partners integrate Microsoft Dynamics CRM with Cisco's VoIP platform. But, Microsoft's offerings and Cisco's MeetingPlace perform the same tasks.

And at VoiceCon in March, Microsoft and an array of players including Avaya, Alcatel, Siemens and Nortel announced plans to build interoperability between their respective offerings. Microsoft then positioned the current LCS 2005 as the "hub" for unified communications.

Microsoft's view of voice- and data-communications as part of one huge market was conveyed in its reorg last January when it put real-time communications and Exchange Server into one overall Unified Communications Group.