SAVE MONEY ON TRAVEL DEALS

The Redmond, Wash., company's Platforms and Services, led by departing executive Kevin Johnson, will be split into a division that includes Windows and Windows Live and another that includes Online Services. Both divisions will be overseen by current Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Steve Ballmer, the Seattle Times reported Thursday.

Three senior vice presidents, Steven Sinofsky, Jon DeVaan and Bill Veghte, will run the Windows and Windows Live group and report directly to Ballmer. But no leader was announced for the Online division, the Times reported.

Analysts said Johnson's departure may have caught the company by surprise. Johnson was one of the executives leading the so far unfruitful initiative to purchase Yahoo! Inc., the Times reported.

Johnson is leaving to take over Juniper Networks, a network equipment firm.

"It sounds as though what really happened is Kevin either got fired or left, and they're just kind of making a patch of it", technology analyst and consultant Mark Anderson told the newspaper.

 BREAKING STORIES

Software aims to help wi-fi security

More reported data breaches this year

Asthma monitoring on the Web being created

New X-ray analysis spots early cavities

Biofeedback used to win gold at Olympics

Report: Seinfeld signs Microsoft ad deal

Machines may have vote-dropping glitch

iPhone 3G patched, Apple says

Record labels want bigger video game slice

Gates, Chinese official meet in Beijing

Dropped calls pose possible iPhone setback

Hackers attacking users via Web sites

Cybercriminal indictees include informant

Software might be able to predict disease

Anti-virus software might soon be obsolete

Report: E-passport chips can be cloned

Comcast told to stop blocking Web tool

Detector IDs birdsongs of various species

Report: Company hired connected lawyer

NASA announces software of the year awards