The U.S. Department of the Navy has extended a multibillion-dollar outsourcing contract with Electronic Data Systems Corp. through September 2010. The extension adds more than US$3 billion to the value of the contract, which covers the Navy/ Marine Corps Intranet. EDS said it will disclose the new overall value of the N/MCI pact -- once described by CEO Michael Jordan as "a mess" -- during the company's earnings call in May.

U.K. forces $450M Accenture charge

Accenture Ltd. said a charge to cover expected losses from two contracts to upgrade the U.K. National Health Service's IT infrastructure led to a steep drop in its second-quarter profit. Accenture reported a charge of $450 million to cover projected losses on the NHS project, which will link 50 million patients in England with doctors and other health care providers by 2010.

Parliament OKs national ID cards

Both houses of the U.K.'s Parliament have reached a compromise on a bill to move ahead with an effort to issue national identification cards. The House of Lords and the House of Commons both approved bills making the card optional until Jan. 1, 2010. A representative of Prime Minister Tony Blair said the opt-out date "strikes a sensible compromise."