PALO ALTO, Calif. and SAN FRANCISCO, April 17 /PR

SAN MATEO, Calif. and SAN FRANCISCO, April 16 /PR

By Sarah Jane TribbleSTAFF When Cisco Systems Inc. announced plans Thursday to pay $3.2 billion for online conferencing service WebEx Communications Inc., the networking giant signaled that it wants to become more than just the Internet's plumber.

Cisco Systems Inc has made a major foray into software as a service and web conferencing with the $3.2bn acquisition of WebEx Communications Inc.

Cisco Systems Inc. said Thursday that it has agreed to acquire the online meeting company WebEx Communications Inc. for about $3.2 billion in cash.