Longhorn's new name: Windows Vista

The next version of Windows finally has an official name: Windows Vista.

The advertising tagline for Vista is "Clear, Confident, Connected: Bringing clarity to your world", according to a video of the announcement posted by Microsoft.

Microsoft has also registered the domain name windowsvista.us.

The company is expected to announce on Friday that the first beta, or test release, of Vista is slated for release as early as next week. The company is also planning to begin testing a server version of the operating system later this year.

Microsoft first announced plans for Longhorn in 2001. It was originally expected to debut in 2004. The company has since revamped the feature list and launch date several times.