Scots Parliament opening to be Webcast by MSN

MSN is going to host the Webcast of the opening of the Scottish Parliament live on 1 July on the new assembly's Web site. Microsoft is understandably proud of this achievement. With all the rumblings in Scotland about the cost of the Parliament, it is indeed a monumental feat to extract yet more money from the Scots to finance such a venture. "We are honoured to be involved with this historic event," says Raymond O'Hare, Microsoft Scotland's business manager. "The site will showcase the fantastic potential of new technology - so appropriate from a country that invented the telephone, television, and radar." This is the first time the Queen will be live online. But what a disappointing debut: no glorious robes, glittering crowns or ceremonial carriages to spark our interest. Instead, our Liz will be part of a low key event, which in the wrong light might be mistaken for the opening of a supermarket. The nuts and bolts of the production are six ISDN lines (12 ISDN channels) and six Compaq encoders running Windows NT 4, which will be encoding for Microsoft Windows Media. The broadcast will include a feed from the BBC, individual interviews with attending celebrities and a feed from inside the Parliament. Web watchers will be able to click between views and chat online. The re-opening of the Parliament after 300 years is undoubtedly an important event in Scotland's history. It's just a shame its being opened by an English Queen, and broadcast by a US IT company. ®