Microsoft v/s Adobe Now?

Jonathan Allen discusses impact of XML Paper Specification (XPS). It stands in direct competition with Adobe’s Portable Document Format (PDF). The major difference being that Adobe provides PDF tools while Microsoft is coaxing developers to provide XPS editors. XPS would have been just another Microsoft specific document format, except that they are pushing it as a standard, which can lead to cross-platform support, which means direct competition to PDF. I wonder why the existing Open Document Formats (ODF) was improved upon if they wanted to release it as a standard! Microsoft has still not handed over XPS to a standards body, but has agreed to.