'Windows Vista Starter will be the most affordable version and it will run on entry-level hardware,' he said during a recent briefing held in Singapore.

Bridging the digital divide

'We wanted to see how we could offer the Vista experience to countries with low PC penetration,' Chebbi said, adding that there is great opportunity to bridge the so-called digital divide because almost 90 percent of the worldwide population still has no Internet access.

According to the Microsoft official, the company aims to help people discover what technology can do for them.

'There are several layers to that. On the most fundamental level, we see this product as laying a foundation for a new generation of users ' computer-literate children who otherwise wouldn't have that opportunity,' he said.