Citing heavy traffic, Microsoft Corp suspended offering downloads of the first public beta of Windows 7, in order to add more servers. A post to the Windows blog said that the company is building up more network infrastructure to support the "high" demand.

It was on Wednesday at the CES in Las Vegas that Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer had announced the Friday launch for Windows 7 Beta 1, calling Windows 7 "the best version of Windows ever" with faster booting and longer battery life.

Windows 7 is also expected to include touch screen technology, and better provisions for facilitating the personalization of the system. More user-friendly features will consist of a new taskbar that previews all open windows from a single application.

Announcing the pause in the downloads on Friday, the Windows Client Communications Team's manager, Brandon LeBlanc, said that the overwhelming response requires Microsoft to post an update with additional capacity to the blog, so that Windows 7 Beta 1 can ready for public downloads.

LeBlanc wrote on the blog: "We want to ensure customers have the best possible experience when downloading the beta, and I'll be posting here again soon once the beta goes live."

Even as a Microsoft spokesman said at the CES that servers were being added "as fast as we can," there is no information about the resumption of Windows 7 downloads.