Networkworld has discovered a rather interesting patent, applied for by Redmond company Microsoft, that would allow them to produce a holographic meeting place, as well as a few other intriguing ideas.

The patent is rather vague on the actual hardware and software that would create these holographic meetings, although it does include 21 pictures and diagrams of how these meetings would take place. Patrice Simard, chief scientist and manager of the recently gutted Microsoft Live Labs, is listed as one of the inventors. (Live Labs is responsible for developing Photosynth, and a few other nifty Web apps.) Simard is the inventor for a whole lotta Microsoft patents including some for machine learning, activity detection, digital ink and a whiteboard imaging system. Given the connection, sheer speculation would lead us to conclude that holographic meetings could one day be an online service for Windows Live users that one-ups the kind of shared PowerPoint and voice apps that passes for a virtual meeting these days.