Microsoft have announced that ‘upgrade’ editions of Windows 7 will not be available in the EU in a move to comply with competition regulations.

“We will not be able to offer an upgrade product within Europe,” said John Curran, Windows business lead at Microsoft UK

In the US and elsewhere in the world, people buying a new PC this summer may be eligible for a free or reduced price copy of Windows 7 by redeeming a voucher.  Microsoft have said that they will still make the upgrade offer to EU buyers, but will instead ship full versions of Windows 7 instead of the upgrade editions.

At the moment, an upgrade version of Windows Vista Home Premium will retail for £79.99 in the UK and a full version is £149.99.  Whether this will mean that EU consumers will pay more than people outside the EU when buying a copy of Windows 7 retail, or whether Microsoft will reduce the price of Windows 7 for EU consumers is unclear at this point.

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