John Thompson vowed that it would put more resources into research and development over the coming the year, speaking to reporters at the Symantec's annual Vision conference here.

"Our strategy is to out-innovate Microsoft. We know more about security than they ever will," Thompson said.

Microsoft's development of security products for its upcoming Vista update to the Windows operating system prompted Symantec to be bullish about taking on the software giant.

"Competition with Microsoft is inevitable, given the way the tom-toms are beating at the moment," Thompson said.

Microsoft is developing Windows Live OneCare, a security service aimed at consumers that is scheduled for U.S. commercial release in June. It combines antivirus, anti-spyware and firewall software with backup features and several tune-up tools for Windows PCs. Client Protection, Microsoft's enterprise product, has no release date as yet and is in limited beta testing.

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