Developers will get an in-depth technical review of Longhorn, the next iteration of Windows. Microsoft is also expected to focus attention on Longhorn's underlying graphics and Aero, the new user interface.

At the conference, Microsoft will deliver early beta code of Yukon, its next-generation database, Whidbey, the upcoming version of Visual Studio and a sneak peek at Indigo, a web services development framework.

Longhorn, in particular, appears to be very much a work in progress. Company officials earlier this month dropped hints that the upcoming OS - at least the completed server version - will not be available until 2006.

But the ambitions Microsoft has for its next-generation OS, database and development tools, rely on its equally ambitious security initiative, which was outlined by a number of top company officials earlier this month.

The security initiative will weave "safety technologies" into the company's core set of products and will simplify the company's patching strategy, emphasising collaboration with Windows application developers and business partners.

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