Microsoft has reported profits of $4.52bn (£2.96bn) for the three months between April and June - up 48% on the same period last year.

本年度四月至六月，微软获利45.2亿美元，同比增长48%。

Windows 7 has sold well since its launch last year

The software giant said strong sales of its Windows 7 operating system helped to boost profits.

The company said 175 million Windows 7 licences had now been sold since its launch last year.

Total revenues（总收入） hit $16bn with strong sales from the Bing search engine and the Xbox games console.

Profits for the year to the end of June were $18.76bn, a 29% increase on the previous 12 months.

"The revenue growth, combined with our ongoing¹ cost discipline, helped us achieve another quarter of margin² expansion," said Peter Klein, Microsoft's chief financial officer.

As well as the launch of new products, including Office 2010 earlier this year, Microsoft has benefited from a rebound³（回弹） in technology spending.

Worldwide sales of personal computers have risen by more than 20% in the last three months, according to research company IDC.

Amazon profits up

Microsoft's strong results came amid a raft of positive corporate⁴ news from the US.

Online retailer⁵ Amazon also reported a big rise in its profits for the quarter, which were up by 45% on last year at $207m.

Amazon said a big increase in sales of electronic books for its Kindle⁶ device had helped profits.

It's flagship store Amazon.com is now selling more Kindle books than hard copies, the company said, with Kindle book sales now up 200% on the same time last year.

Earlier, machinery⁷ maker⁸ Caterpillar⁹, delivery firm UPS and telecom AT&T also reported strong earnings¹⁰.

In response shares on Wall Street's Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the day up nearly 2%.