Word is filtering out this morning that Microsoft, along with recent additions Google, Facebook, and Plaxo, will be joining the DataPortability.Org working group, represented by Windows Live Platform Corporate Vice President David Treadwell.  DataPortability.Org seeks to allow data sharing between different applications, as stated in their Philosoply and Mission:

Philosophy As users, our identity, photos, videos and other forms of personal data should be discoverable by, and shared between our chosen (and trusted) tools or vendors. We need a DHCP for Identity. A distributed File System for data. The technologies already exist, we simply need a complete reference design to put the pieces together.

Mission To put all existing technologies and initiatives in context to create a reference design for end-to-end Data Portability. To promote that design to the developer, vendor and end-user community.

While those perceiving Microsoft as anti-open may be surprised, in fact Microsoft, and especially Windows Live, have been making great strides to open up the platform.  Along with the OpenID efforts of Kim Cameron and others at Microsoft, the company has been providing APIs for access to Windows Live Contacts stores, among many others, with more to come.  We will certainly be following this in the weeks and months ahead.

Via ReadWriteWeb, thanks for reading, Marshall!