Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) figures it is not in enough businesses already, so it plans to offer a high-definition photo [subscription required] format to the world's camera industry. The old standard, the Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) compression format, has been around awhile and may not be able to break down photos into small files as well as Microsoft can.

The move by MSFT is not unlike the one that it made into the video world five years ago. It offered its Windows Media video compression in place of the old MPEG-2 standard for breaking down video files for transmission.

Moving photos around the internet is a big business. Companies like PhotoBucket and Flickr would not exist if photos could not be broken down digitally and sent over IP. The Microsoft product offers the opportunity to do this with less bandwidth usage than the JPEG format.

There is a lot at stake. Research firm NPD Group said that digital camera sales hit $6.9 billion in 2006. The new software could be a blessing for that industry.

Microsoft does not want money for the new technology; it is part of Vista. The world's largest software company thinks this might drive consumers to adopt Vista faster. It may be right.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.