According to the most recent statistics shared by Net Applications, Microsoft Windows 7 operating system, which is nearing its first birthday, is already beginning to grab more customers than Windows Vista, its predecessor.

As per the Net Applications data for the month of August, the fact that Windows 7 is outshining Vista is evident from the growing share of the new OS in terms of devices accessing the internet via it – while the share of Windows 7 has increased to 15.87 percent; the share of Vista has fallen to 14 percent.

In July too, Windows 7 has beaten Vista marginally with its 14.46 percent market share, vis-à-vis the Vista’s 14.34 percent share.

However, the market leader among all operating systems – including both Microsoft and non-Microsoft operating systems - is Windows XP, which has managed to retain its lead with a 60.89 percent installation on the devices tracked for August.

Though the August figures for XP have fallen one percentage point from the July figures, its share is still almost two times the combined share of Windows 7 and Vista.

Furthermore, Net Applications data also showed that Windows 7, which was slightly over 2 percent after its October-last-year release, has increased to nearly 16 percent; while the Vista share plunged 5 percentage points from 19 percent usage, and XP tumbled 10 percentage points from almost 71 percent usage in October 2009.