European Vista launch on schedule

Microsoft said today that it is not expecting any further delays to the launch of Windows Vista in Europe.

The software giant is "on track" to release Vista to businesses in November and to the general public in January.

Microsoft had to agree to make changes to Vista in order to avoid antitrust actions and to prevent a delay in releasing the product in Europe, according to general counsel Brad Smith.

"We have made changes to ensure that we are in compliance with our competition law obligations, and we are moving forward to make Windows Vista available on a worldwide basis," said Smith.

Microsoft said in a statement that it had engaged in a "constructive dialogue" with the European Commission.

The EU threatened in March to ban Vista over concerns that software included in the operating system violated antitrust laws.

As late as September, Microsoft had speculated that legal issues with the EU could delay the European launch of Vista.

"We are committed to adhering to local law in every region of the world," said Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer.

An IDC study commissioned by Microsoft in September claimed that Vista would create as many as 50,000 new IT jobs and bring in $8 billion in six key European markets.

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