Microsoft has confirmed more details of its forthcoming Live Drive service, which will offer free online storage.

Speaking at a blogger's breakfast before the opening of Microsoft's Tech Ed conference in Sydney on Tuesday, Microsoft Australia technical specialist John Hodgson said that the basic Live Drive was likely to include around 2 gigabytes of storage for free. Additional storage capacity will be available for purchase, he said, though pricing and final release dates haven't been announced.

While there have been rumors about Live Drive service in the blogosphere, to date Microsoft has been cagey about officially confirming those plans. What is known is that the service can be mapped directly from PCs running the upcoming Windows Vista operating system.