Microsoft could finish work on its long-awaited Windows 2000 operating system as early as Wednesday, wrapping up a long and painful development project that also represents Microsoft's best hope of dominating Internet computing. Windows 2000 won't actually be available to users until February 17, when Microsoft plans a gala event to celebrate its release. But the Redmond, Washington, software giant has said for the last several months it is on track to release the program to its manufacturing plants by the end of the year -- a step that "freezes" the software in the form customers will eventually see. As of Tuesday, company officials said that step could come as early as Wednesday. Still, that date isn't set in stone; unexpected bugs could crop up, necessitating a further delay as they are fixed and "stress testing" of the operating system is resumed. One of the most complex software projects ever undertaken, Windows 2000 is also one of the most anticipated and most delayed. Well over a year late, the project has been plagued by a variety of setbacks, including a significant redesign and a management reshuffle just over a year ago. Competitors have made Windows 2000 the butt of jokes; Sun Microsystems Chairman Scott McNealy likes to say that Windows 2000, or "W2K," will be a bigger disaster than the year-2000 computer bug, or Y2K. But once complete -- and assuming it works as advertised -- Windows 2000 will serve as the cornerstone of Microsoft's efforts to extend its market power from desktop personal-computer operating systems to Internet computing. It will be the first Microsoft operating system for use in high-end server computers, and company officials insist its reliability and stability will finally allow Microsoft to compete head-to-head with the Unix systems sold by Sun and other computer makers. What's more, Windows 2000 will anchor a much more ambitious Microsoft initiative it calls "Windows DNA 2000," an entire suite of Internet and electronic-commerce applications, from Web and electronic-mail servers to a heavy-duty database, designed to run on Windows 2000. Ultimately, Microsoft officials say they hope to sweep aside makers of individual e-commerce applications such as database giant Oracle. Early reports from Microsoft customers trying test versions of Windows 2000 suggest it may live up to much of its billing. Barnesandnoble.com, a joint venture of Barnes & Noble and Bertelsmann AG of Germany, is running its entire Web-based bookselling operation on a prerelease version of Windows 2000 with no problems, said Gary King, Barnesandnoble.com's chief information officer. Read more about the progress of Windows 2000 on AnchorDesk. Take me to the Windows Special