Czech Republic gives nod to OOXML

The Czech Standards Institute (CSI) has voted to make Microsoft's Open Office XML format a standard, the organization said Tuesday.

Members of the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) are considering whether to recognize OOXML, which ISO refers to as ISO/IEC DIS 29500, as a standard. The cutoff date for participating countries to vote is March 29.

Critics of OOXML, which include backers of the Open Document Format such as IBM, have said it is not open enough to be approved as a standard. The resulting process has been a heated, years-long affair.

The CSI sent notice of its acceptance to the ISO on March 20, according to the institute.