If you've been keeping tabs on Microsoft's online endeavors, you've no doubt noticed the steady stream of Windows Live services being rolled out to replace existing MSN services.  To the casual observer, MSN is on the way out to be replaced by Windows Live.  But as Mary Jo Foley reports for ZDNet, the software company isn't throwing the towel in on MSN anytime soon.

Steve Berkowitz, Microsoft Senior Vice President of Online Services, said at the Lehman Brothers Technology Conference that his employer had no intention of throwing MSN's 465 million monthly users away.  Instead, he said, Microsoft's focus was going to be on ways to gently move MSN users over to Live services as they become available.  Berkowitz is confident about Live's ability to retain customers.  He told conference goers that if users could be convinced to move to the new Live services, "they'd be hooked".

Foley presents a great recap of additional information covered in Berkowitz's speech, including:

• Live services are grouped into three categories:  Search/Inform (all Live searches), Communications/Connect (Mail, Messenger), and Protect (Windows Live OneCare)
• Microsoft admits Google and Yahoo own "destination" search (going to a search engine specifically to find something), but thinks it can gain ground in "convenience" search (search engine choice based on whatever search box is available at another service)
• Microsoft plans on integrating Live services into other Microsoft products, like Xbox
• Microsoft is approaching its online services from a "data cloud" perspective that would allow people to access their data from anywhere

We'll keep you up to date on Microsoft's efforts to roll out new Live services and we'll keep an eye on the evolution of MSN.  Microsoft is smart not to loose the prime traffic that MSN generates.  Hopefully they will stick to this slow roll out plan.  People are much more likely to respond positively to Windows Live if it's put in front of them a piece at a time.  To suddenly take away MSN and plop Windows Live down in front of them would be catastrophic.

Read Mary Jo Foley's complete article for a detailed look at the future of Microsoft's online services.