Windows XP a big seller

Microsoft claims to have sold more than 17 million copies of Windows XP since the operating system went on sale two months ago.

The software company estimated sales of XP licences by computer manufacturers were more than 300 per cent higher than Windows 98 and 200 per cent higher than Windows Millennium Edition for comparable periods after those products were introduced.

Microsoft also said it had sold 1.5 million units of its Xbox video game console since its November 15 launch. The company will launch Xbox in Japan on February 22.