Taiwanese netbook pioneer ASUS has just announced that it will be participating in the Windows 7 Upgrade program, enabling its customers to easily upgrade their operating system to the latest release from Microsoft. According to ASUS, users who will purchase a new qualifying ASUS desktop or portable PC, including the EeeTOP PC or the Eee PC family, in the eligibility period will be able to transition to the much-hyped Windows platform. The announcement comes just after HP recently announced that users acquiring a new HP PC would be eligible for the Windows 7 Upgrade program.

“ASUS is pleased to announce that our customers worldwide who purchase qualifying ASUS products now will be able to enjoy all that Windows 7 has to offer as soon as it is available,” said Tony Chen, vice president of ASUS System Business Group. “The Windows Upgrade Option program through ASUS gives our users the advantage of buying a qualifying ASUS desktop PC, notebook, EeeTop PC or Eee PC now, with the guarantee of an upgrade to Windows 7 once it is launched. ASUS engineers have kept close pace with the development of Windows 7 right from the beginning and have made every effort to provide the best computing experience. The ASUS Windows 7 Upgrade Offer will be free in the USA, while users from other parts of the world will be able to enjoy the upgrade for a nominal shipping and handling fee.”

The launch of Microsoft's much-anticipated Windows 7 operating system has raised the interest for the PC market, which has been hurting due to low demand. It is believed that the new OS will boost sales, although it's yet to be established whether this will actually help PC vendors increase their profitably before the end of this year.

ASUS is currently one of the world's leading vendors of computer systems, with the company actually aiming towards becoming one of the top three players. There are a number of systems that are participating in the newly-announced program, with ASUS even launching a dedicated web page explaining all details for users to become eligible for the program. While said OS is expected to be launched on October 22, 2009, the program expands from June 26, 2009 through January 31, 2010.