Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates said on Friday he expected the new version of Windows operating software, code-named Windows 7, to be released "sometime in the next year or so."

Microsoft Corp. will begin offering its online business services to companies of all sizes, no longer limiting them to those with more than 5,000 users. The services from the world's largest software maker include Exchange Online and SharePoint Online, which Microsoft is testing in a limited trial.

Yahoo put in place on Tuesday severance benefits that would be given to all employees who might be laid off if the company was sold.

Microsoft plans to invest heavily in Web search to compete against Google, even if it fails to acquire Yahoo, the company's chairman Bill Gates said on Monday.

Microsoft might not be the unbeatable giant it once seemed to be, but Chairman Bill Gates made the case Sunday night that its technologies are becoming even more flexible and powerful as they seep into automobiles, Internet-based TV networks and living rooms.