Last year you told us you weren't quite ready to say goodbye to Windows XP. We listened. That's why we delayed our plan to stop selling it until June 30, 2008. We love that you love Windows XP. We've seen it on our website, in e-mails, and through independent online petition drives. Our engineers work hard to build innovative software that empowers our customers. It's nice when you tell us we've made a difference. But our commitment to innovation sometimes means making tough choices. This is one of them.

After careful consultation with our customers and industry partners, we've decided to proceed with our plan to phase out Windows XP in June. It'll be a long goodbye. We plan to provide support for Windows XP until 2014. We know there have been lots of questions—and some confusion—about our plans.

We also want to underscore that we're not, as some people have asserted, "pulling the plug" on our popular operating system. Let us be clear: Although Windows XP won't be sold in stores, Microsoft and its partners will continue to offer technical support for Windows XP for months and years to come. In fact, Microsoft plans to support Windows XP until 2014. We're proud of Windows XP, a product that has empowered and entertained hundreds of millions of people in the last eight years. But technology doesn't stand still. And neither can we.

Source:→ Microsoft