"Most corporations have no interest with getting away with anything at Microsoft's expense," he said. Indeed, corporations, especially those that have merged with another company or undergone a restructuring, often have a hard time keeping track of all the software they own. Most will "overbuy licenses because it's cheaper to do that then to designate staff people to actively manage them."

Microsoft said the Key Management Service will include administrative tools to help companies manage licenses.

"Microsoft isn't tracking the numbers of copies installed; the key management services are internal to the organization," the spokeswoman said. "We will be rolling out Vista deployment guidebooks and information for customers and channel partners later this summer.

As for consumer users of Vista, DeGroot said there is a good chance they will encounter WGA, or something like it.

The Microsoft spokeswoman added, "We don't have specific details to share on individual features of WGA in Windows Vista at this time, but WGA will continue to be a part of Microsoft's Genuine Software Initiative."