Submitted by: kirkland on Monday October 23rd, 2006 at 08:06 PM EST

Microsoft aims to double the number of mobile phones running its Windows software this year from 6 million at the end of 2005 and to keep up this rate of growth in coming years, a Microsoft executive said.

"The number of devices operating on Windows Mobile doubled to 6 million last year," Peter Knook, head of Microsoft's Mobile and Embedded Devices division, told Germany's Euro am Sonntag in an interview published on Sunday.

Nokia has about half the global market for smartphones.

Knook said Microsoft was also looking at ways to connect users of Windows Mobile smartphones to its Xbox Live online video games console.

» Full story @ Reuters