Microsoft has unveiled a service aimed at clearing up confusion around Windows Vista.

The Windows Vista Compatibility Center was introduced during a speech at the firm's Worldwide Partner Conference.

Microsoft hopes that the online database, which is already said to include some 9,000 hardware and software items, will clear up any lingering questions about which products are supported by the operating system.

The company had originally planned to launch an online beta version of the tool for public use on 8 July. By the afternoon, however, the site remained offline.

A notice on the site on the morning of 9 July read: 'The Windows Vista Compatibility Center will be launching soon, please check back!'

Microsoft hopes that the service will warn customers about which products are not supported by Vista, and alleviate fears about what hardware and software items will still work with the new operating system.

Despite being released some 18 months ago, Vista is still struggling to gain acceptance among consumer and enterprise users.

PC vendors such as Dell and HP have responded to lingering user demand for XP by finding new ways to extend the availability of the old operating system and keep it available to users far beyond Microsoft's original discontinue dates.

Microsoft also suffered a PR embarrassment last week when Intel, one of its most loyal hardware vendors, revealed that it was going to bypass Vista all together and wait for the new version of Windows before upgrading many of its company PCs.