The Irish exchequer will receive a £30 million (€38 million) boost from the launch of Microsoft's latest operating system, Windows XP, a senior Microsoft executive has claimed. He said the release would also aid the struggling global market for PCs. Mr Kevin Dillon, managing director of Microsoft's European operations centre in Dublin, said Windows XP, which will be launched next Thursday, is the best operating system released yet.
Mr Dillon said the company expected to pay $170 million (€187.6 million) in corporation tax this year. A quarter of this would be generated from the sales of Windows XP and 2000 operating systems, he added.
"Microsoft is one of the largest corporate taxpayers in the country and we believe Windows XP will help the minister's budget, though we may not see the effect for some time," Mr Dillon claimed.
Microsoft estimates the development, supply and distribution of the XP product will also employ thousands of Irish workers at its partner firms across the Republic.
Mr Dillon said the European operation's centre, based in Dublin, was distributing 600,000 box products to 61 countries throughout the Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia.
He also claimed the introduction of XP would play its part in revitalising the global PC market, which is experiencing its first decline in sales for more than 15 years.
Microsoft is spending $200 million on marketing the product, while other retailers and PC manufacturers are committing even larger amounts on PC advertising.
However, XP's ability to roll back the gloom in the PC market has been challenged by several technology analysts.
Mr Andy Brown, research manager of mobile computing for consultancy group IDC, said yesterday that Windows XP wasn't the answer. He also questioned the timing of the release.
"We remain guarded on forecasts for the fourth quarter," he said. "September 11th and the introduction of the euro are both negatives."
Mr Dillon said the events of September 11th would have no direct impact on the supply lines and logistics of the launch of XP. He said he "hoped" the attacks would not affect consumer behaviour and confidence.
"Our pre-orders, early indications, are very positive and we don't see any signs that people are holding back," he said.
Mr Dillon also gave an upbeat forecast for the technology industry in the Republic.
"There is a little bit of doom and gloom in Ireland due to things that have happened in the technology sector which are regrettable," he said. "But I've been in the tech sector for the last 20 years and I've never been more positive about it or Ireland."
However, the terrorist attacks last month forced Microsoft to scrap its initial advertising campaign, which had been based around the tagline "Prepare to fly".
This change of campaign will have impacted on the firm's costs. Microsoft will now release the product with the slogan "Yes you can".
Windows XP Home Edition will be available in an upgrade version for £99 and in a standard version for £197. Windows XP Professional will be available in an upgrade version for £193 and in a standard version for £287.
People will be able to upgrade their operating system if they have computers running on 300 megahertz and 128 megabytes of memory.
