Pre-orders of Windows 7 have broken records at a number of major high-street retailers, according to the owners of the chains.

DSGi revealed that Currys, PC World and Dixons.co.uk saw the new Microsoft operating system sell over 25 per cent more than the total annual sales of the controversial and often-lambasted predecessor Windows Vista.

Early orders are largely being converted due to price cuts offered by such chains, with DSGi slashing costs by a half in many places.

Commenting on the sales, head of trading of software at DSGi Alan Dardis said: "We are seeing an unprecedented level of demand for this new operating system.

"With other retailers already running out of stock, we expect demand to only increase so we would recommend customers order early to ensure they are not disappointed."

DSGi serves over 100 million customers each year in its variety of stores in the UK and across the continent while remaining committed to store training, design and product information to make its stock as accessible to consumers as possible.

According to a recent survey by Connect, the two biggest IT headaches for businesses were 'everyday hassles with IT' (37 per cent) and 'security concerns' (32 per cent).