BANGALORE: Amway and Tupperware sellers are familiar with this— call friends to a house party, and then quietly introduce them to the company’s skin care or weight loss products or kitchenware. But Microsoft? In what is perhaps a first for this software giant, the company is asking people to hold parties in their homes to showcase Windows 7, its latest operating system due to be launched on October 22. 

Interested folk can register on this site called houseparty.com, an online party coordinating service. And if you are selected, the big incentive for you is a free Windows 7 Signature Edition. Every host will also have a chance to win a PC worth $750. Houseparty.com will help you organise the party, and will supply a special kit, which may include some little things like keychains or t-shirts for guests.