This would primarily benefit individuals owning multiple smartphones running the Windows Mobile 6.5 operating system, which is needed to access Microsoft's online store.

But it could also allow users to share apps by "authorizing" the phones of close friends and family using the same generation of Windows Mobile phone, said Daniel Bouie, a senior product planner for Microsoft, during a talk last week at the software maker's Tech Ed conference.

Marketplace customers will also be able to get a no-questions-asked refund on an application provided it is within 24 hours of purchase, Bouie said.

Microsoft is gunning for rival smartphones with these customer-friendly moves, especially Apple Inc.'s iPhone.

iPhone owners today can download the same app onto multiple iPhones provided they all have the same credit card and iTunes account information, according to iPhone retailers interviewed by Computerworld. That would appear to rule out easy sharing of apps with friends and family, they say.