Microsoft will not close a loophole that offers consumers a cheaper way to upgrade to Windows Vista.

As vnunet.com reported last week, users can install the upgrade version of the new operating system as a fresh installation, even if they do not currently own a licensed copy of Windows XP.  

The procedure is time consuming, but allows users to save about 35 per cent of the purchase price for the regular Windows Vista.

"People without a licensed copy of XP that use this workaround are violating the terms of use agreed to when they purchased the upgrade version of Windows Vista," a Microsoft spokesman told vnunet.com. 

"As such, we believe only a very small percentage of people will take the time to implement this workaround, and we encourage all customers to follow our official guidelines for upgrading to Windows Vista."

Microsoft added that it does not have any plans to disable the workaround at this time.