Microsoft stores coming soon

Microsoft plans to follow Apple's lead and open its own chain of retail stores. But judging from the initial press release announcing the stores, there may be some very big problems ahead.

Microsoft announced that it will be rolling out a chain of retail stores, and hired David Porter to be Corporate Vice President of Retail Stores.

The company didn't say specifically where or when it plans to open the stores. "Defining the time frame, locations, and specifics for planned Microsoft-branded retail stores will be Porter's first order of business," Microsoft said.

Porter spent 25 years at Wal-Mart in various roles, including store operations, merchandising, and IT.

Microsoft indicated that it wants to use the stores as a platform to hawk its forthcoming Windows 7 operating system. "This is an exciting time with our strong lineup of upcoming product releases including Windows 7 and new releases of Windows Live and Windows Mobile," said Kevin Turner, the company's chief operating officer, in a statement.