Microsoft as begun testing "Live Mesh", a technology that brings together a person's pictures, documents and other data scattered across a growing number of devices with the goal of allowing people to access their information from anywhere and at any time.

Microsoft's "Live Mesh" program, which uses the Internet as a data hub, synchronizes files across computers, phones and other devices so a digital picture frame at home could show a picture minutes after it was taken by a cell phone.

Initially the program will be limited to 10,000 U.S. testers and computers running its Windows operating system, but Microsoft said it plans to extend Live Mesh over the next few months to mobile phones, computers from Apple and other devices connected to the Internet.

The project was annouced by Ray Ozzie, who replaced Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates as chief software architect.

Live Mesh embraces the industry trend toward "cloud computing" in which information is centrally stored on Web sites rather than on local devices, giving users easy access from any computer.

The software will also let friends collaborate and share documents more easily. For example, if a shared document is changed on a work computer, those changes will be instantly updated and available on any device or computer that the user has registered with Live Mesh.

Microsoft plans to release Live Mesh in a widely-available test, or "beta" version before the end of 2008. For additional information visit https://www.mesh.com.