Microsoft launches Windows 2000

"This will be dramatically more reliable than any other release we have put out. We have come up with break through ways to assure the reliability," said Gates, launched Windows 2000 at a gala event in San Francisco on Thursday.

Microsoft stock has been rocked in the past week by a report from research firm The Gartner Group which forecast the new operating system would be slow and may be incompatible with some existing software.

Commenting on claims that Windows 2000 had a security problem in one part of the programme, Gates said this was not true, adding that it had been tested on 300 customers and feedback had been very positive.

"This is going to be one that people are glad they moved upto," he said. Asked about whether 40 per cent of Microsoft profits in fiscal 2000 were geared to Windows products, Gates said it was within that range. "The launch of this product is a very key event."

Gates told NBC he was spending a considerable amount of time trying to settle the US Government’s anti-trust law suit. "We are putting all our creativity into that. We are hopeful that we can reach a settlement but in terms of the specifics, we are keeping that confidential."