WASHINGTON D.C. - Craig Mundie, Microsoft's senior vice president and chief technology officer, will be a featured speaker at The Progress & Freedom Foundation's tenth annual Aspen Summit. Mundie will make a presentation on open standards and open source software, and later join an executive roundtable discussion on the future of the Internet. He appears on Tuesday, August 24 at 10:45 am and 1:45 pm MDT. The three-day conference of government officials, corporate leaders and digital policy experts takes place at the St. Regis in Aspen, Colorado. This year's theme is the future of the Internet.

Following Mundie's presentation on software topics, Emery Simon, counselor to the Business Software Alliance, and Mark D. Stahlman, managing director: equity research at Caris & Company, will join the discussion. At the separate afternoon roundtable, which will focus on integration and look ahead at Internet services, applications and delivery 'pipes,' Mundie will be joined by Lawrence T. Babbio Jr., vice chairman and president of Verizon, and Halsey Minor, CEO, chairman and founder of Grand Central Communications. Babbio delivers Tuesday's luncheon address at 12:30 pm.

"When Craig Mundie speaks, policymakers and industry leaders listen," said Raymond L. Gifford, president of The Progress & Freedom Foundation. "As CTO of advanced strategies and policies at Microsoft, he has much to say about the future of the Internet."

Simon ran the Alliance to Promote Software Innovation, and was the Deputy Assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Intellectual Property. He was principal U.S. negotiator on intellectual property in the North American Free Trade Agreement and the TRIPs Agreement. Stahlman has 30 years experience in the computer industry. He has been a venture capitalist, commentator and consultant to companies and governments.

Other Summit speakers include FCC Chairman Michael K. Powell and Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy, FTC Commissioner Orson Swindle, Ambassador David Gross, Coordinator for International Communications & Information Policy at the U.S. Dept. of State, Assistant Attorney General R. Hewitt Pate and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information Michael Gallagher, as well as senior executives from Verizon, Hewlett-Packard, Warner Bros., VeriSign, Symantec and major industry trade associations.

The Progress & Freedom Foundation is a market-oriented think tank that studies the digital revolution and its implications for public policy. It is a 501(c)(3) research & educational organization.