Microsoft is adding a "Windows XP Mode" to Windows 7, in a move to encourage users to make the switch to the software vendor’s forthcoming operating system. 

Redmond was keen to emphasize in a blog post late on Friday that it’s hoping to woo small businesses to move to Windows 7 by bigging up the XP mode feature. "Windows XP Mode is specifically designed to help small businesses move to Windows 7," said Microsoft.

Microsoft said it will release a beta of Windows XP mode and Windows Virtual PC for Windows 7 Professional and Windows 7 Ultimate "soon" but wasn’t more specific about when the test builds will land.

When Microsoft released Vista over two years ago, many businesses and individuals complained about compatibility snafus with applications that simply wouldn’t work within the new OS.

Presumably Redmond has built in its virtualized XP insurance policy into Windows 7, a release candidate for which is expected on 30 April, to avoid some of the problems that dogged Vista from day one.