Microsoft has switched off its 'Get The Facts' Linux-bashing website and replaced it with a less confrontational site that compares server products.

The new Compare site includes features such as a Gartner webcast on system security, a demonstration comparing Linux's script-based management to Windows PowerShell, analyst reports and company case studies.

Ryan Gavin, Microsoft's director of platform strategy, said that customers had increasingly asked for credible third-party information from other clients and industry experts, as well as Microsoft's perspective on platform decisions.

"Compare was designed with these requirements in mind: to provide in-depth information about how Windows, Linux, Unix and mainframe stack up along key attributes," Gavin said in an official statement.

"Given that the Compare site will provide third-party information, 'Get the Facts' will be retired as a destination."

Microsoft had previously been criticised for sponsoring supposedly independent studies on the 'Get the Facts' site that showed the benefits of its products over other platforms.

However, the software manufacturer has not ruled out commissioning third-party research for the Compare site if it felt that customers wanted it.