The virtualisation company has updated its Fusion software for running Windows on the Mac, and touted 'universal clients'

A day after entering the cloud-computing fray, VMware on Tuesday turned its focus to desktop applications.

In conjunction with its VMworld conference, the virtualisation company announced the general availability of VMware Fusion 2.0, software for running the Windows operating system on the Mac.

Besides touting new features and enhancements from version 1.x, VMware stressed that Fusion 2.0 "makes Windows even safer on the Mac" through its use of automatic virtual machine snapshots and a free, 12-month subscription to McAfee VirusScan Plus.

Fusion 2.0, the company's rival to the Parallels software for running Windows on the Mac, also lets users add up to four virtual CPUs to a virtual machine, as well as adding support for Mac OS X Leopard Server. The suggested retail price for the software, available online now, is $79.99 (£44.87).

VMware also announced its vClient Initiative, which is intended to foster "universal clients" that would let users access their set of desktop applications — hosted in a datacentre — from any device, anywhere. VMware is kicking off the initiative with a set of products called VMware View, including Composer for managing desktop images.

News of the moves dovetails with VMware's Monday announcements, including the launch of its Virtual Datacenter Operating System technology, in which the company staked its claim to the enterprise end of cloud computing.

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