Chip manufacturer Advance Micro Devices (AMD) yesterday said it is to collaborate with software giant Microsoft to enable its Windows operating systems to run on the upcoming Hammer family of AMD chips.

AMD chips have been successful with home PC users but have failed to crack the corporate market.

Microsoft joins Linux in backing AMD with its operating system.

The chip company hopes that by working with Microsoft it can get a foot in the server market and persuade IT managers to take its chipsets seriously.

"The union of AMD's technology and a Microsoft Windows operating system built to support that technology lays the groundwork for broader industry adoption of 64bit computing platforms, especially in the enterprise, and helps drive performance to new levels," said Dirk Meyer, group vice president of AMD's Computation Products Group.

The desktop chip, currently codenamed 'Clawhammer', will be unveiled at the end of the year under the Hammer family banner, AMD said.

The multiprocessor 'Sledgehammer' chip will come under the new name of 'Opteron' in the first half of next year.

Hammer chips will be able to read 32bit code for PC software and 64bit code for high-end servers, the company said.

Sanders will step down as chairman and hand over the reins to former Motorola man, Hector Ruiz.