OS NEWS: Microsoft confirms Windows XP SP3

Microsoft Corp. today officially confirmed that there will be a third service pack for the current client version of Windows, Windows XP. The company declined to release further details, but said that Windows XP Service Pack 3 (SP3) will be available after the shipment of Windows Vista, the next version of the client operating system. Vista is now scheduled to be available at the end of 2006.

"Right now, Vista is our priority," Michael Burk, product manager for Windows Vista at Microsoft, said in a statement. "We'll have more information to share after Vista ships."

News leaked that there would be a third service pack for Windows XP after published reports last week quoted Microsoft France Technical and Security Director Bernard Ourghanlian as confirming that Windows XP SP3 would be available after Windows Vista. However, as of yesterday, Microsoft insisted that the company had not decided whether to release a third service pack for XP.

Full story: ComputerWorld