XP Reloaded - an update before Longhorn

Microsoft is considering updating Windows XP before it releases Longhorn, the code name for a major overhaul of the industry's dominant operating system that is not expected for about two years.

Issuing an update to XP would represent a significant shift for the software maker, which for months has insisted that it had no plans to create a separate version of Windows before Longhorn. A company executive confirmed on Thursday that Microsoft is now discussing a product internally referred to as 'Windows XP Reloaded'.

Any further release would follow Windows XP Service Pack 2, a security-oriented upgrade that is slated to arrive before mid-year. The features that would be included in an update are still under discussion, Windows lead product manager Greg Sullivan said in an interview.

"Calling it an interim release is overstating the current plan," Sullivan said. "We are exploring ways to add value to Windows XP."

However, Directions on Microsoft analyst Rob Helm said that any new version of Windows is likely to slow Longhorn's arrival.

"There's one Windows team and there's one core group of people [developing it]," Helm said. "If they do plan an interim release, it will have an impact on the schedule. How much will depend on what's in it."

Helm said that Windows XP Reloaded sounds like what he would term an interim release. "To my mind, a service pack with features that has the potential to impact compatibility is an interim release."

Helm did say that one option available to Microsoft is to try to boost some of the surrounding programs that are bundled with Windows while making fewer changes to the core OS. Such a 'feature pack' could mean less of a delay.

In addition to adding a further question to the already uncertain timing of Longhorn, Helm said Microsoft's constantly changing release schedule makes it harder for customers to plan.

"In the consumer market it's less important but in the enterprise market it's really important for Microsoft to provide a roadmap - and not just of major big-bang releases but also of service packs. Right now that road map is still pretty hazy."

Executives have said for some time that there was no major release of Windows planned before Longhorn. At the Windows Hardware Engineering Conference in May, senior vice president Will Poole said: "Don't expect an interim release."

Poole said at that time that Longhorn would ship in 2005. Microsoft later backed away from that date, saying only that it would ship when it is ready. However, until now, Microsoft has reiterated that no new versions of Windows are planned before Longhorn.

Ina Fried writes for CNET News.com. Stephen Shankland contributed to this report.