Microsoft will reportedly offer an upgrade feature with its forthcoming Vista OS, which will allow users of the Home Edition to easily upgrade to the Premium or Ultimate versions from their PC. Tech journalist Ed Bott reported the information on his blog this week, giving a brief description of the steps required to upgrade your Vista Home Basic addition to Premium or Ultimate. The upgrade firstly requires user to purchase a valid license of Vista. This can be downloaded from a Microsoft's partner website. Once the license is installed, users should use their original Windows Vista installation disc and proceed with the upgrade. According to the blog entry, the process will take a few minutes to complete.

Microsoft confirmed the upgrade feature, named "Windows Anytime Upgrade".

"While Microsoft is always looking for new ways to provide convenience to customers and is committed to constantly improving upon the user experience, we do not have any specific product plans or details to announce at this time regarding Windows Anytime Upgrade," a Microsoft spokeswoman said.

Microsoft is going to ship six versions of Vista. The different SKUs, or stock keeping unit, includes Vista Starter, Vista Home Basic, Vista Home Premium, Vista Home Ultimate, Vista Business and Vista Enterprise.

The Ultimate Edition would contain all the multimedia functionality of the Home Premium Edition and the business-focused capabilities of the business versions.