After months of speculation, finally, Microsoft has disclosed some details about the next version of Windows after Vista dubbed "Windows 7" with the obvious highlight being a multi-touch interface.

As per the information available, it appears that Windows 7 will boast multi-touch interface support. Last year, at Wall Street Journal's conference, "D: All Things Digital", Bill Gates introduced an all new concept in computing named "Surface". "Surface" exploits touch/multi-touch capabilities to provide users with a natural way to interact with computing devices.This year, Microsoft showcased how few of the multi-touch innovations previewed earlier would enhance Windows 7. The demonstration video posted on Microsoft Windows Client Communications Team Director Chris Flores' blog shows how a user can edit and manipulate photos with his fingertips, navigate a map, and play virtual piano.

In his blog post, Flores wrote, "Touch is quickly becoming a common way of directly interacting with software and devices. Touch-enabled surfaces are popping up everywhere including laptop touch pads, cell phones, remote controls, GPS devices, and more. What becomes even more compelling is when this experience is delivered to the PC on a wide variety of Windows notebooks, in all-in-one PC's, as well as in external monitors."

Officially, Windows 7 is scheduled to ship three years after general availability of Windows Vista; Vista debuted in January 2007. This pushes the launch of Windows 7 to 2010. "We are still on track to ship approximately three years after general availability of Windows Vista," Flores has written in his blog post. As a regular feature, there would be some beta releases before the final launch.