SAN JOSE, Calif. -- With the release of .NET, Microsoft, the focus has been on getting developers to use the tools to build a better Internet.

Part of the quest includes folding Microsoft's Active Server Pages (ASP) technology into the mix, which is being addressed here at the .NET Developer Conference and Expo.

The two-day event, sponsored by ASP101.com, 15 Seconds.com, 4GuysFromRolla, ASPWire.com and INT Media Group, the parent company of Internet.com and this site, is designed for both the experienced ASP programmer looking to keep up with the newest capabilities of ASP.NET, and as for newcomers to this architecture who need an introduction to the technology.

If you ever used Microsoft's ASP technology, you'll remember it as a very enabling technology.

But, with the release of ASP.Net, Microsoft says it has a way for developers to build Web applications with less code and in less time as compared to other web technologies such as ASP, PHP, or JSP.

"What is really exciting is that Microsoft is really visionary when it comes to XML-based Web services," said Microsoft Program Manager Rob Howard. "Since the company took this on four years ago, we really went and listened to what developers were looking for. We think that ASP under the .NET platform really addresses those issues, making it easy to build Web services without changing the paradigm."

Which rings true. Prior to ASP, most developers wrote web applications using a combination of PERL, C, or C++. Howard says ASP.Net revolutionized Web development and enabled developers to be much more productive. Now Microsoft is looking forward to ASP.Net 2.0, which is currently in the development phase.

"ASP.NET is like a first class citizen within Microsoft's .NET framework," says 4guysfromrolla.com Author and Webmaster Scott Mitchell. "The critical value of ASP.NET is that the technology makes developing and deploying Web services as easy as developing a Web application."

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All of the attention on ASP.Net is an outgrowth of how Microsoft is pole positioning for the Web services, while other companies like Sun Microsystems, IBM and BEA Systems, Inc. are trying to work with them (or around them).

And even though Web services are great for the Web and other Internet-connected devices Howard says keep your eyes on the mobile space, where Japan and Europe are leading and Microsoft is investing heavily.