Microsoft is offering general public to preview a preliminary version of Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, for 64-bit Extended Systems. The general target market for this operating system is AMD64 machines.

The software giant offers customers to sign up to receive trial software for Windows Server 2003, Enterprise Edition, for 64-Bit Extended Systems via CD or download. The pre-release software is only compatible with AMD’s 64-bit processors, such as Athlon 64 or Opteron, is time limited and will expire in 360 days.

The final version of Microsoft Windows for 64-bit Extended Systems will be available sometime in the second half of the year along with some new software that can take advantage of 64-bit processors. The industry expects Microsoft’s new operating system to improve performance of personal computers based on AMD Athlon 64 and AMD Opteron microprocessors. Additionally, software makers are also likely to follow Microsoft and optimize their products for AMD’s 64-bit microprocessors that are anticipated to be widely available by the end of the year.

However, AMD may not be the only company to take advantage from a Windows operating system that boosts speed on x86 machines that can handle 64-bit computing. Rumours suggest that Intel may bring out its CT technology during the upcoming IDF in San Francisco, California, that is also a sort of x86-64 technology proposed by AMD. So far it is not clear if Intel’s and AMD’s approaches to extend x86 processors with 64-bit capabilities have anything in common to take advantage of the same software.

Readers interested in downloading (550MB) or ordering trial of Windows Server 2003 Enterprise Edition for 64-bit Extended Systems should visit this page over Microsoft’s web-site.