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Neowin claims to have got hold of an internal Microsoft schedule that shows SP3 will be released to OEMs, MSDN and TechNet subscribers on Monday.

Just over a week later on 29 April, the Service Pack will be made available on Microsoft Update, Windows Update and Download Centre.

Finally, the Pack will be issued through Microsoft's Automatic Update service on 10 June. That's just days before the company controversially plans to withdraw XP from sale across the world on 30 June.

Microsoft has refused to confirm

Service Pack 3 has reportedly been ready to roll for some time, but the company was waiting for Vista Service Pack 1 to take hold before giving people any further incentive to stick with XP.

However, the problems that have marred Vista SP1 may convince even more people to stay rooted to XP.

Dell told PC Pro yesterday that its new range of Vostro business laptops would continue to be supplied with Windows XP because "we're here to supply what customers want."

Reports of Vista's demise were also given fresh impetus earlier this month when Bill Gates talked of Windows 7 arriving next year, although the company later stipulated that the release schedule for the new OS had not been brought forward.