Cisco is offering to give American companies free access to its WebEx service on Thursday.

The company said that it was opening up the service to everyone as part of a promotion for a national "Dump the Pump" day in which commuters are encouraged to avoid using any gas, opting to telecommute or take public transportation instead.

For its part, Cisco is opening up its collaboration service to everyone, giving companies the option of allowing employees to work from home and conduct all meetings with co-workers online rather than face-to-face.

In doing so, Cisco hopes to contribute to the effort to use less gas and consequentially emit less carbon into the atmosphere. IT will also hope to win over new customers to the service.

"We're helping to clean the air, one meeting at a time," said Joe Schwartz, Cisco's director of WebEx marketing operations.

"By helping to reduce the need for travel, WebEx offers a great solution for commuters who want to do their part to reduce carbon emissions."

"We hope that commuters across the country will take advantage of travel alternatives during Dump the Pump Day."

Source:vnunet.com