In a move that follows Apple, which successfully launched its Mac App Store in January, Microsoft confirmed that it will launch a Windows Store to provide applications for Windows 8 computers.
Developers will be able to submit their apps to the store from late February next year. Apps can be free but the minimum price for those that charge will be $1.49. Microsoft will take a 30 per cent commission from app sales - a percentage that has become the standard as app stores have launched for mobile and desktop apps. If an app generates more than $20,000, Microsoft will drop its commission to 20 per cent.
The company said it was offering a more flexible system for developers than rival stores.
"Ensuring the visibility of apps and the efficiency and fluidity of app discovery became the fundamental building block of our Store design," said Ted Dworkin, partner program manager for the Windows Store, in a blogpost.
To aid discoverability, Windows Store apps will be indexed by search engines and developers can link from their website directly to their app by inserting a line of code.
Microsoft will charge a commission for applications that use its in-app purchase system but companies are free to use their own payment system without paying commission to Microsoft.
The company showed The Daily Telegraph's Windows 8 app as an example of an app that can use its own subscription system.
Windows 8 is expected to be released in beta form by the end of February. Microsoft has not confirmed a date for the full release of the new operating system but it is thought that it will be available before the end of 2012.
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