Microsoft unveiled on Thursday a new version of its Windows operating system for mobile devices, making it look more like Windows Vista and adding features previously only available on personal computers. Called Windows Mobile 6 and available in the second quarter of 2007, it introduces the ability to view e-mails in their original HTML Internet format with live Web links from advanced mobile phones, generally referred to as smartphones.

Windows Mobile 6 also includes Windows Live, which allows instant messaging with more than one person at a time and can send a file or image, or record and send voice notes.

Windows Mobile 6 users can also view, navigate and edit documents in the original Word, Outlook, Excel and Powerpoint format, without affecting tables, images or text.

Windows Mobile 6 also has new security features.

Microsoft last week introduced Vista, the new version of its personal computer operating system.

Despite its modest global market share, well behind software from Symbian and Nokia , Microsoft's Windows Mobile was selected by Vodafone in November as one of only three mobile operating software systems it would support in the long run. The other two were Symbian/Nokia Series 60 and Linux.

The software giant has said sales of mobile phones running on Windows Mobile would double this fiscal year to mid-2007 and are set to double again in the year beyond.