SEATTLE (Reuters) - Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) said on Friday it will ship the next version of Windows in 2006, but scaled back plans to include a new system for finding and storing information in its flagship operating system.

software maker has committed to a launch target for the ambitious upgrade to Windows, code-named Longhorn, since shipping the current version, Windows XP (news - web sites), in October 2001.


Bill Gates (news - web sites), chairman and chief software architect of Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft, is leading the effort to ship the next major upgrade to Windows, which promises to boost the performance of the world's most widely used operating system.

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