US software giant Microsoft is preparing to launch its flagship operating system Windows Vista, six years after development first began.
From tomorrow onwards Vista will be available to consumers in more than 70 countries and 19 languages, with plans to translate the software into 99 dialects before the end of year.
Launching alongside the operating system is the latest version of Microsoft Office, which the firm says is the "most amazing version" yet.
Speaking at the New York launch event, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates boldly predicted that the new products will "transform the way people work and play".
Along with graphical enhancements such as three-dimensional desktops and translucent windows, Vista features improved security and child-monitoring features for parents.
But the company has faced criticism for its pricing plans, with a British consumer expected to pay between £100 and £249 for Vista – a direct translation of US prices, meaning that American consumers will pay between £52 and £127 for the same software.
Users will also need relatively high-end PCs to run Vista, with Microsoft recommending the highest version of the operating system only be used on computers with at least a 1GHz CPU and 1GB of memory.
But five years after the launch of Windows XP, which represents the longest gap between successive software releases, Mr Gates insisted that Vista would "squarely address the needs and aspirations of people around the globe".
About one million people are expected to install Vista before the end of 2007.
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