Mr BILL Gates, chairman and CEO of Microsoft, gave the public a peek at the company's upcoming Windows 98 operating system during Spring Comdex, the annual computer show.

Officials with the company say the new operating system represents a substantial improvement with greater reliability, faster performance, and easier Internet access. "A major scheme of the industry . . . is to bring some additional simplicity," Mr Gates said.

Mr Gates' demonstration inadvertently underscored how elusive simplicity can be. His demonstration of Window 98 was halted when the system crashed after an assistant plugged in a scanner.

Windows 98 is set to debut in June.