Microsoft Corp. on Thursday posted a 60 percent surge in profit in the most recent quarter, with sales boosted by strong demand for the software giant's latest Windows 7 operating system.

For Microsoft's fiscal second quarter ended on December 31, 2009, its net income jumped to US$6.66 billion from US$4.17 billion in the same period a year earlier.

Revenue totaled US$19.02 billion, a 14 percent increase from the year-ago period and also a record high for the company's fiscal second quarter.

Microsoft noted that the results included US$1.71 billion in deferred revenue relating to the Windows 7 Upgrade Option Program and pre-sales of Windows 7 before the new operating system was formerly launched on October 22, 2009.

The company said it sold over 60 million Windows 7 licenses through the second quarter, making it the fastest selling operating system in history.

"Exceptional demand for Windows 7 led to the positive top-line growth for the company," Peter Klein, chief financial officer at Microsoft, said in a statement.

"Our continuing commitment to managing costs allowed us to drive earnings performance ahead of the revenue growth," he added.

(Xinhua News Agency January 29, 2010)