Microsoft’s Hotmail service was once again unreachable from Beijing on Thursday, extending an intermittent outage that has lasted for more than two weeks.“I’m really angry,” said one Chinese Hotmail user, who agreed to speak on the condition that her name not be used. Hotmail has been inaccessible for many Chinese users since the beginning of May. The specific cause of the outage has not been made public. In one of two e-mails she received from Microsoft in response to a customer service request, the company said, “We’re sorry, recently MSN China has experienced temporary technical problems affecting a small number of users, including yourself.” The statement did not disclose the nature of the problems or when they would be resolved.Microsoft’s note wasn’t enough to satisfy this Hotmail user. Unable to access her e-mail account, she has switched to Google’s rival Gmail service, which has not experienced the same service disruption. While Chinese users remained unable to reach the Hotmail Web site on Thursday, a message on MSN China’s support website said the service was functioning properly with no network problems. A Microsoft spokesman in Beijing referred comment on the matter to the company’s public relations agency.“It is a technical issue at the carrier network level,” said Brian Zhou, president of H-Line Ogilvy Communications. Microsoft is working with China Network Communications Group (China Netcom) and China Telecommunications, the country’s other fixed-line operator, to diagnose and resolve the problem, he said. Attempts to access Hotmail.com from a residential Internet connection in Beijing timed out after reaching the backbone network of China Netcom.A China Netcom spokeswoman in Beijing could not be reached for comment.-Sumner Lemon, IDG News ServiceThis article is posted on our Microsoft Informer page. For more news on the Redmond, Wash.-based powerhouse, keep checking in.Check out our CIO News Alerts and Tech Informer pages for more updated news coverage. Related content brandpost Sponsored by Freshworks When your AI chatbots mess up AI ‘hallucinations’ present significant business risks, but new types of guardrails can keep them from doing serious damage By Paul Gillin Dec 08, 2023 4 mins Generative AI brandpost Sponsored by Dell New research: How IT leaders drive business benefits by accelerating device refresh strategies Security leaders have particular concerns that older devices are more vulnerable to increasingly sophisticated cyber attacks. By Laura McEwan Dec 08, 2023 3 mins Infrastructure Management case study Toyota transforms IT service desk with gen AI To help promote insourcing and quality control, Toyota Motor North America is leveraging generative AI for HR and IT service desk requests. By Thor Olavsrud Dec 08, 2023 7 mins Employee Experience Employee Experience Employee Experience feature CSM certification: Costs, requirements, and all you need to know The Certified ScrumMaster (CSM) certification sets the standard for establishing Scrum theory, developing practical applications and rules, and leading teams and stakeholders through the development process. By Moira Alexander Dec 08, 2023 8 mins Certifications IT Skills Project Management Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe