Microsoft's second quarter results were ahead of expectations, thanks to strong sales of video games, business software and Windows Vista.

Profit was up 79 per cent to $4.7 billion (£2.4bn) and revenue up 30 per cent to $16.37bn (£8.2bn).

Highlights included sales of more than 100 million Windows Vista licences since the operating system's launch a year ago. The business, server and tools divisions also performed well, doubling revenue to $1bn (£504m), in comparison to the prior year.

"We are in the midst of another strong year with great momentum heading into calendar year 2008," said Microsoft chief operating officer Kevin Turner.

"As we look ahead, our Windows Server 2008 launch, with our virtualisation solution, will further our quest to bring exceptional value to our customers."

New consumer offerings launched in the second quarter included Windows Home Server and new versions of the Zune media player. Sales of Xbox 360 consoles reached 17.7 million units, up 70 per cent on the same quarter last year.