Microsoft Corp. today announced that Circuit City Stores Inc., one of America's leading consumer electronics retailers, will deploy Microsoft� technology in the new point-of-sale (POS) solution it is developing for Circuit City's more than 600 retail stores in the United States. The decision to use Microsoft technology is part of Circuit City's strategic initiative to implement a next-generation POS platform in all its retail locations.

After successfully piloting the new store architecture in select Circuit City stores during the peak holiday season, the Virginia-based retailer is rolling out Microsoft Windows� XP Embedded, the componentized version of the leading desktop operating system customized for the retail industry, on its POS registers and will run a server platform of Microsoft SQL Server (TM) and Windows 2000 Server in each store.

"Our goal has been to implement a POS platform that helps us deliver better service to our customers while allowing our sales staff be more productive," said Dennis Bowman, CIO of Circuit City Stores Inc. "With Microsoft, we are entering into a strategic relationship to accomplish that goal. We were encouraged by Microsoft's strong commitment to the retail industry, and after a careful evaluation of several operating systems, we chose Microsoft Windows XP Embedded for its reliability, functionality, strong vendor support, and ability to flexibly integrate with other key tools used by our store associates. Our new POS devices are intuitive and easy to use and will deliver vast amounts of Web-based and store-specific information to both associates and customers."