Windows 7, Microsoft's latest operating system, will be officially available to the public on 22 October.

This version of the operating system is being offered as an upgrade to people who buy new PC's running Windows Vista.

Microsoft are promising improvements from Windows Vista. Many users found issues and problems with thier current hardware and software not running under Windows Vista and Vista's compatibility programme for hardware was found to be confusing and sometimes misleading.

Some of the features to be found in Windows 7 are as follows:

Windows XP mode - a virtual PC that can run older applications which may not run on Windows 7

Remote Media Streaming - access your digital media across the internet

Aero Peek - full screen previews of applications

Windows Touch - Multi-touch device support

Gadgets - Widgets will now appear on the desktop and not in a sidebar

Windows 7 will also have "comparable system requirements" to Vista, which should mean that if your PC is capable of running Vista it will also run the new version.

Windows 7 should provide a major usability improvement on Windows Vista, and the security measures which caused frustration for many users have been simplified.

Beta testing of Windows 7 has shown that it is faster than Vista, especially in terms of start-up and shutdown sequences.