Windows XP Will Ensure Microsoft's Web Dominance.

MICROSOFT has made most of its money by embracing rival technologies, twisting them to suit its needs and using its market strength to grind the original into the dust.

Usually, the victim is some hapless technology company like the Internet Powerhouse Formerly Known as Netscape. But with the upcoming release of Windows XP, Microsoft is making plans to co-opt the World Wide Web itself.

Some preliminary "beta" versions of the upcoming Windows upgrade include a Web browser equipped with something called "Smart Tags." The name only makes sense if you think it's smart to let Microsoft gain even greater control over the Web-surfing experience than it already enjoys.

The tags offer links to related content when certain words appear on a Web page that's viewed through Internet Explorer. If users click on the links, they're taken away to a Microsoft site or other pages chosen by the company or its advertising partners.

It's not difficult to imagine how the rest of the online world will react to this feature. As if Microsoft wasn't making enough money on its own products, Smart Tags gives the company a way to profit from other people's work without their permission.

Many commercial Web sites generate revenue by selling advertisers the right to post links on their pages. But Smart Tags would let Microsoft insert its own advertising on any Web site it chooses. It's ingenious, really, in the same way that securing a patent on oxygen would be a really clever way to make money.

Not many companies could claim the entire Net as their own dominion. But by rolling over Netscape in the so-called browser war -- a misnomer akin to calling the United States invasion of Grenada "World War Three" -- Microsoft won the right to be the window that most people look through to see the Web. That means it can clutter the view with stickers, wrought-iron bars or whatever else it wants to put in our way.

Microsoft clearly hopes to leverage its monopoly power over PC operating systems to gain an advantage in a new market -- online advertising. If that line sounds familiar, it should: It came directly from the antitrust case filed against Microsoft after it began offering its Internet Explorer Web browser as part of Windows.

You might remember that Microsoft lost that case. But the only thing the company seems to have learned is that it's far better to lose in the courtroom than in the marketplace.

The trial court decision that threatened to break up the software giant was appealed to another court that seems much more agreeable to Microsoft's arguments. Meanwhile, the Justice Department seems less inclined to press hard on that case or any new abuses with a more business-friendly Bush administration now in power.

So it seems that Smart Tags will be allowed to fail or succeed on their merits. A similar feature hasn't exactly attracted hordes of people to the NBCi.com site. But Microsoft could force-feed the feature to anyone using its new operating system -- which eventually means almost everyone on the Net.

If Smart Tags take off, they would drain money from an already tight online advertising market. They also would create some uncomfortable situations for Web publishers.

For example, Microsoft could pepper its critics' Web sites with links to its own home page. It could refuse to sell links to its competitors, instead linking sites that mention Real Networks or Sun to Microsoft pages. It also could sell companies links that appear when people visit their competitors' Web sites.

The only thing stopping Microsoft would seem to be public opinion. If users of the beta version don't like surfing with Smart Tags, the company might not include them in the final version of Windows XP, which is due to be released Oct. 25. An outcry from the online community also might do the trick.

If the company sticks with Smart Tags, it ought to at least have the decency to change its slogan. It'll be more accurate to say: Microsoft -- Where Do We Want You to Go Today.