Microsoft Corp. has chosen the antivirus software maker Trend Micro Inc. to protect Microsoft's widely used Hotmail Internet e-mail service.

    BEIJING, Dec. 21 (Xinhuanet) -- Microsoft Corp. has chosen the antivirus software maker Trend Micro Inc. to protect Microsoft's widely used Hotmail Internet e-mail service, dropping most of the antivirus services it had been getting from McAfee.

    A Microsoft spokeswoman said Trend Micro will do all the e-mail scanning for most of the 187 million users of the company's Hotmail service, the biggest Internet e-mail service. But she said McAfee will continue to run antivirus and firewall services for premium Microsoft e-mail users.

    Hotmail users will receive automatic protection whenever they send and receive e-mail attachments using Trend Micro's scanning and detection services, Tokyo-based Trend Micro said in a statement.

    New York Stock Exchange-listed McAfee shares closed at $26.98, down $1.97, or 6.8 percent.

    Trend Micro's American depositary shares ended at $54.78, up $4.30, or 8.5 percent, on the Nasdaq Stock Market. Enditem

(Agencies)