Seattle, May 08: Microsoft Corp. has spent more than $250 million developing technology to control how users view or share copyrighted or sensitive material, and hopes to make computing more secure in the future, Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer said. In an e-mail sent to 500,000 customers, suppliers and partners yesterday evening, Ballmer laid out Microsoft's case for developing technology in the touchy area of digital rights management. ``During the past decade, computers and the internet have transformed the way we work, learn, communicate and are entertained,'' Ballmer said. ``Yet some of technology's potent al to do even more has not been fully realized, because of concerns a bout illegal use of digital information, about confidentiality and a bout privacy.'' Microsoft wants to lay the foundation for protecting digital content, said Ray Wagner, a research director with Gartner. It's up to the film and music companies to choose how to deploy the technology and how restrictive it should be, with the marketplace as the judge, he said. The e-mail reflects Microsoft's efforts to try to ease the concerns of a public skeptical about heavy restrictions on their use of content and the company's role as a guardian, Wagner said.

Bureau Report