XP SP3 for release next week?

Volume customers and MSDN and TechNet subscribers could receive SP3 by Monday

Microsoft's Service Pack 3 update for Windows XP is set for delivery sometime in the next few weeks, but the company is still declining to name an official release date.

XP SP3 is the next major update for Microsoft's mainstream desktop platform and will roll-up all updates issued since SP2 was released in August 2004, including security patches and hotfixes. It will not include significant new functionality, but will add Vista's Network Access Protection (NAP) to help organisations take advantage of new features in Windows Server 2008.

Several online news sites have reported that SP3 may be released to volume customers and MSDN and TechNet subscribers as early as Monday 21 April, with general availability on Windows Update the following week.

However, a Microsoft spokesperson would only re-iterate the company's official line on SP3, that it will be available in the first half of 2008, provided it meets the company's quality bar for release.