All MSN Employees on Trip to China

"Do not come to see us because we will go away for a week."

MSN of Microsoft, which claims to have the highest number of messenger users in South Korea, is scheduled to close its office for a week from Oct. 21.

A total of 17 workers will go on a business trip to Beijing, China to participate in a training program. All MSN workers in Asia will take part in the training program. It is Microsoft’s first special effort to let them shut down their business temporarily and put them in training.

Some 5 million MSN users need not be afraid of the possible shutdown of the MSN service. MSN program and portal site will operate as usual, an MSN official said.

MSN operators do not expect any big problems because its operating system automatically works and it has back-up system in place.

In addition, they make themselves at ease because they can check the operation of MSN in China. In case an airplane which all employees boarded crashed, they fly will different planes with time intervals.

Lee Gu-hwan, director of MSN, said, "Even on business trips, I worked with my lap-top computer. With the development of information and communications technology, physical distance and location do not matter any more. This made it possible for all employees to join in the program."

Jung-Eun Lee lightee@donga.com