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The move is in part a reaction to the huge popularity of netbooks, which are not powerful enough to run current anti-virus packages transparently. Because many of these netbooks run older operating systems, Microsoft will release an XP version of Morro, alongside Vista and Windows 7 options.

The transition is likely to occur on 30 June next year, at which point OneCare will be discontinued and replaced with Morro.

"We know that there are still some 60% of consumers in developed markets, and even more in emerging markets, that don't have up-to-date security protection on their PCs, and we want to help provide that core level of protection,"

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says Amy Barzdukas, senior director of product management at Microsoft.

The free availability of the software reflects the fact that many users in developing nations do not have access to the credit cards needed to renew software subscriptions, claims Barzdukas.

"Providing access to a trusted solution at no charge is the right thing to do to help protect our customers. We'll also be able to continue capturing threat intelligence that will help our security researchers develop new signatures and continue protection enhancements from which all consumers - and enterprises - can benefit," she continues.

The company denies suggestions that the new Morro software will simply be a rebadged and free version of its current OneCare package.

"We hear from consumers that they need core malware protection in low-bandwidth scenarios, or that will run on less powerful machines. That's why we will design Morro to have a smaller footprint and to use fewer computing resources," says Barzdukas.

Because of this targetting towards low-powered machines, the software will lose some of the more advanced features of OneCare, such as printer sharing, disk defragmenting and other "performance-enhancing tools".