Microsoft decided to offer a demonstration of its new Windows 7 operating system, with more than 20 months before its scheduled release.

The new system will offer a feature based on the touch-screen technology which might lead to a new class of PCs in the years to come. The new feature, called Multi-touch, will allow people to conduct certain activities using their fingers on a touch-sensitive screen. The name comes from the system’s ability to process multiple touches simultaneously.

The demonstration took place yesterday at the Wall Street Journal’s D conference, where Julie Larson-Green, Microsoft's corporate vice president for Windows experience program management, presented a series of applications that will surely benefit from the multi-touch technology, amongst which photography applications and music programs.

According to a blog post by Chris Flores, a director at Microsoft working on the Windows Client Communications Team, Windows 7 will use the same architectural investments introduced with Windows Vista and refined for Windows Vista SP1 and Windows Server 2008.

Microsoft’s untimely unveiling could be considered a sign of the negative feedback received by its Windows Vista release. It could also mean that the company is planning a much more rapid market drop of its new product, analyzing the market’s first reactions and test results.

Windows Vista was released in January 2007 and even with its poor reviews, according to Microsoft’s estimates, the company has sold close to 140 million licenses so far.

News about the official Windows 7 release and also a much more complete presentation of its features are expected to be released over the next few months.