But a willingness to evangelize, and, if necessary, defend Microsoft products from haters helps. "I have not met one MVP who lacked the conviction and courage to challenge" attacks on Microsoft software, said Richards.

MVPs are unpaid, and the title does not connote any minimum level of technical knowledge, as a . However, the awards carry prestige in the large Microsoft technical community, and often open up job opportunities for awardees at Microsoft and its partner firms.

Another perk is the opportunity to attend the MVP Summit. Some 1,500 MVPs and/or their employers are expected, according to Richards.

Microsoft is trotting out a lineup of executives for speeches and Q&A sessions worthy of its much larger conferences. They include CEO Steve Ballmer; Antoine Leblond, senior vice president for Office productivity applications; Soma Somasegar, corporate vice president for developer tools; Mike Nash, corporate vice president for Windows product management; and Bob Kelly, corporate vice president for infrastructure server marketing.

Microsoft wants to give MVPs, 75% of whom are IT professionals or developers in their own right, early access to beta products and more say on those products, something they .