MICROSOFT PLANS ASSORTMENT OF INTERNET SERVICES.

Byline: Peter H. Lewis The New York Times

Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday that it planned to deploy an array of commercial Internet software services, code-named Normandy, that it will use to establish a beachhead in the Internet market, which is dominated by the Netscape Communications Corp.

Microsoft said CompuServe Inc., the on-line information service, would be the first major user of Normandy products.

CompuServe and Microsoft also outlined an expanded strategic alliance under which each company would distribute the other's products and services. Beginning this summer, CompuServe will make Microsoft's Internet Explorer the main Internet software it distributes to its 4.9 million subscribers worldwide, while Microsoft will include access buttons to two of CompuServe's three consumer on-line services in its Windows 95 operating system.

The alliance is part of the strategy by both companies of trying to catch up to the leaders on the Internet.

CompuServe's decision to embrace Normandy gives Microsoft a significant lift, just as Microsoft is playing host to several hundred international Internet access providers, telephone companies, cable television operators and World Wide Web publishers at its headquarters in Redmond, Wash.

Microsoft officials contend that the new software, which is not expected to be commercially available until late this year, is capable of handling tens of thousands of simultaneous Internet connections and of creating personalized, interactive services - including electronic shopping and bill-paying - for millions of users a day.

Neither company would disclose how much CompuServe, which is majority owned by H&R Block, was paying to license the Normandy software. William Gates, the chairman of Microsoft, said little, if any, money had changed hands.

Robert Massey, the chief executive of CompuServe, said early access to Normandy would give CompuServe a head start over America Online Inc., the on-line industry leader, as both services race to rebuild their systems, now proprietary, on broader Internet standards.

Massey said CompuServe, the second-largest on-line operation, would base all its services on Normandy. They include the flagship CompuServe Information Service, the Wow service for children and new computer users, the Sprynet Internet access service and corporate network services.

``It's significant, but it's not going to propel CompuServe ahead of America Online or jeopardize AOL's market share,'' said Carl Lehmann, director of advanced information management strategies at the Meta Group, a consulting firm in Boston.

``The real significance is that Microsoft is going after Netscape,'' Lehmann said.

Earlier this year, Microsoft and America Online forged a similar pact that designates Microsoft's Internet Explorer as the main World Wide Web software for the 6 million subscribers of America Online. With CompuServe, Microsoft will have its software in front of more than 10 million users of on-line services.

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Photo

Photo: Bob Massey, left, of CompuServe and Bill Gates of Mi crosoft announce a deal Tuesday between the firms over Internet services.

Associated Press