According to the folks at Fudzilla, citing their sources "close to Microsoft," the software giant will be taking a page from Apple by opening its own retail stores looking to establish a retail market presence to build interest and desirability around its products.
The site speculates that Microsoft could feature their software, alongside the Xbox 360 console, Windows Mobile based handsets, the Zune media player, and PC peripherals such as mice and webcams. Needless to say there is no official word on how serious Microsoft's retail plans are, or when the company could potentially open its stores so you can take this news with a large grain of salt.