Looks like it's time for another round of speculation about Microsoft's online brands. In a newly discovered filing, the company seeks to trademark the word "Hohm" for "providing information to consumers over computer networks, wireless networks and the Internet."

Blogger Long Zheng spotted the application and tweeted about it earlier today. The company made the filing June 10. Microsoft doesn't appear to own the domain hohm.com, which is registered to a California man but serves as the home page for Ho Hung Ming Enterprises Co. Ltd., a manufacturer of eyeleting and riveting machines. We've contacted the site's owner to see if Microsoft is buying it.

We've also asked Microsoft about its plans for the name, should it be granted the trademark. (Update: Through a spokesman, Microsoft declined to comment.) The situation is somewhat reminiscent of the company's previous filings for a trademark on the word "Bing," which preceded the announcement that it would give that name to its search engine.

Sometimes these filings are false alarms. For example, Microsoft sought trademark protection for "Kumo," as well, but ultimately used that name only for the private test of its search engine.

But it's still worth speculating about how the company might use the "hohm" brand, presumably as a substitute for "home" -- as in home page, maybe? If Microsoft goes forward with the name, it's easy to imagine how the company could play off the word "oh" in the middle, as an expression of surprise.