Despite there once being rumours of Microsoft dropping service pack three for Windows XP, the software giant has now confirmed that it still intends to keep its old operating system up-to-date with at least one more service pack. Although no information about major changes has yet been leaked, a Microsoft spokesperson said the following:

We're currently planning to deliver SP3 for Windows XP in the first half of calendar year 2008. This date is preliminary, and we don't have any more details to share at this time.

By that time, service pack two (which was quite a huge security update) will have been around for about four years, and given the slow start for Windows Vista, Microsoft may have no choice but to continue supporting its larger consumer market for a few years yet if it doesn't want to upset millions of customers. However, considering that Windows XP is now very secure and stable, the next service pack could turn out to be little more than a bundle of Windows Update patches - unless Microsoft intends to integrate features from Vista such as user account control, which is very unlikely.