Even if the Windows XP is already a three years old OS, Microsoft decided that it is time to try convincing the users that Windows XP is a product like no other.

And the big software giant has started a marketing campaign which will run on TV, printed media and Web for the next 15 months.

The campaign which will be launched in 11 countries will try to play up Windows as the start to many things. The ads will have messages like "Start something curious," "Start discovering lost cities" and "Start feeding your brain." Briefly: "Start something" and start it with Windows.

Microsoft said there are 51 TV spots, 39 print ads and 250 online advertisements and the total investment in this campaign is about 200 million dollars. The campaign has already started on the official site www.windows.com and the ads are suggesting Windows XP is the best tool for exploring hobbies and interests such as cooking, music, sports and travel.

At first look, the Microsoft decision to promote an already old operating system may be seem quite strange, but given the time frame and the fact that Allchin said last week that he expects a big ad reinforcement for Longhorn, is clear that this campaign it is only a "warm-up". A beta version of Longhorn is announced for this summer.

The new ad campaign also comes to rival Apple Computer which is preparing to launch its next operating system-Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger on April 29.

The campaign was created by the company's longtime agency, McCann Erickson.