Microsoft is aiming to use the Internet as a hub to "mesh" data, devices and applications that are always updated and available from anywhere. Microsoft's new Live Mesh, which it announced as a limited technology preview Tuesday and planned to detail further here at the O'Reilly Web 2.0 Expo, combines hosted services for storage, sharing files and peer-to-peer connections to allow multiple different devices to work together and users to access updated applications from anywhere, the company said.

With Live Mesh, files, feeds, folders, documents and media can all be synchronized across devices and the Web, Microsoft said. Content from a user's "device mesh" can be shared with others who are using the new Microsoft offering.

Live Mesh also includes the ability to enable multiple devices to report into a common service for status, for updates, or to report their locations. It also will support centralized management, so users can configure and personalize their devices, and can remotely control them from anywhere, according to Microsoft.

Live Mesh's programming model is the same for the cloud and connected devices, so that a Live Mesh application works the same whether it's running in the cloud, in a browser or on a mobile device, according to Amit Mital, general manager of the team that developed Live Mesh.

"Devices are how we interact in this new 'Web connected' world, and we use a variety of them, including PCs, laptops, media devices, phones, digital picture frames, game consoles [and] music players," Mital noted in a blog post. "However, as we discover, adopt and use more of these digital devices, it becomes increasingly difficult to keep the people, information and applications we depend on in sync. With Live Mesh, your experience starts by adding devices to your personal 'device mesh' and making them aware so they work together."

Here's how Live Mesh works: