Microsoft announced that it is close to completing the restoration of the My Phone Web site, which will allow users to back up contacts, text messages, photos, calendar appointments and other information online.

Late Friday, the company restored the Web site, even though the work was not finished. "Today, Microsoft's My Phone Web site went live prior to its scheduled debut," the company said, admitting its mistake.

Users will gain access to a storage space of 200 MB and the service will only be compatible with phones powered by Windows Mobile 6 or later. The list might be even smaller, as the service’s Web site notes that "Most phones that run the Windows Mobile 6 operating system are compatible with My Phone service."

To a certain extent, my Phone is considered a competitor to Apple Inc’s MobileMe, which debuted in July. The main difference is that MobileMe requires an annual fee of $99, while the My Phone service will be available for free.

Microsoft is already offering a service that provides some of My Phone’s features - it is called Live Mesh and it lets people upload photos and other information to a certain Web page which can later be accessed from a mobile phone.

Microsoft’s officials stated that more details about My Phone will be delivered at the Mobile World Congress trade show, which is scheduled to begin in mid-February on the 17th. Also, according to the stateent, the service will be available at first as a limited, invitation-only beta.