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Technology giant Microsoft has joined the lightweighting movement and cut packaging weight for its latest launch, Windows 7, by almost two-fifths.

In a blog posted last week by one of the product’s developers, Microsoft revealed that the new software, which launches this autumn, will come in a pack 37% lighter than its predecessor.

The pack has also been designed to be easier to open. Rather than the usual series of film-covered CDs and manuals, the pack will come in just three elements: the plastic CD case, the paper sleeve and a guide to setting up the software.

Brandon LeBlanc, who wrote the blog, said: "We approached the packaging for Windows 7 the same way we approached the product – by listening to what our customers told us they wanted: make it a simple clean design, easy to open, and reduce waste."

A simplified design will also make packs for different versions of the product easy to identify. A Home Premium version has a green background, while the Professional version features a blue background and the Ultimate version has a black background.

LeBlanc said: "Customers told us they liked the big bold Windows logo and how it clearly communicates that it’s Windows 7. They like larger typefaces to make it easy to read [and] they also like the background colours for each edition."