As part of a drive to make its newest operating system accessible to a younger market, Microsoft is to cut the price for students looking to get up-to-date with their computers.

Windows 7 Home Premium edition - which usually retails at £79.99 - and Windows 7 Professional edition, which is usually the more grandiose price of £189.99, will be practically given away to college and university attendees for just £30.

Microsoft said it made the decision in order to allow those who cannot afford new PCs or laptops to have full access to the product, which is to hit shelves in the UK on October 22nd.

Students will be able to order the product from September 30th, so long as they have a .edu email address.

In a statement, Microsoft said: "This makes it a great opportunity for students to get their hands on the most highly anticipated Windows operating system of all time, whilst saving themselves money in the process."

The current model of Windows commonly used by new computers is the much-maligned Windows Vista, the successor to the well-regarded XP.

More than half of small businesses (53 per cent) believe that the most important benefit of outsourcing is guaranteed response times for IT support. London-based Connect conducted the research in 2007.