The company said that in its first days on the market, the newest version of Windows has been installed by some 4 million users.

Speaking at the company's Build developer conference, chief executive Steve Ballmer was quoted as saying that the company has seen strong interest from early adopters who have been offered the £25 download price.

The news comes despite early doubt cast on the platform by a consumer survey. The study suggested that as many as half of all end users have not yet heard of Microsoft's latest offering.