I'm using Outlook 2007 to store my contacts.

Because I want to use the phone numbers in my phone to call and I'm on
the gsm network, I need to store the phone numbers in format:

+countrycode_operatorcode_phonenumber

i.e.

+358505555555

However, when I enter such a number in to any of the "Phone Numbers"
fields in Contacts and press "Save & Close", Outlook removes the '+'
characters completely.

If I then sync the contacts to my phone, I can't call any of the
numbers, because the plus characters are gone.

Is there any way to prevent Outlook from automatically meddling with
my phone number input?

I just want it to accept what I input and leave it as it is.

Is there a switch where I can turn all auto-corrections off (I already
tried Options/Editor Options to no avail)?

Thanks for any help!