The new operating system (OS) delivers Sherlock, a new revolutionary technology giving the fastest network performance ever and Power PC native Apple Script for greater speed and system automation.

Mac OS 8.5 will also be the first mainstream OS to be available around the world in eight major languages.

The other features of the operating systems include simplified installation process, QuickTime 3, the latest version of Apple's industry leading software for digital media publishing and play-back, multilingual internet access for viewing websites and E-mail messages from around the world in almost any language and support for the new Euro currency symbol.

Sherlock technology, the new feature, allows users to search for any information on their computer or the internet and quickly receive a list of results ranked by relevancy. It uses powerful search engines to provide comprehensiveresults in an intuitive interface. Additional plug-ins for other popular internet sites will soon be made available through Apple's website.

In a network environment, performing tasks has been greatly improved with the OS. The company claims that copy performance is faster than windows NT when copying files across a 100 megabyte Ethernet networks.

The company's Apple Script is a native of Mac OS 8.5 and is now upto five times faster than previous version. In addition, Mac OS functions such as network configuration, printing, coloursunc and search engines are now scriptable.

AppleScript folder actions are being introduced with the operating system to allow scripts attached to various folders to respond to any activity association to a folder-like opening or closing, moving or seizing, and adding or removing files. This enables the automation of simple tasks or even complex workflows.

The operating system will be available in US, Asia, Canada and Europe soon. The company has shipped about 278,000 iMacsduring the products first week on sale, making it the largest selling Macintosh ever.

The company estimates that over 40 per cent of the iMac buyers are new customers. According to a survey conducted among nearly 2000 buyers, over 29.4 per cent of iMac buyers are the first time computer buyers who own neither a Wintel PC nor a Mac and about 12.5 per cent are `converts' to Mac from Wintel PCs.

``iMac offers people a unique combination of stunning design, simplicity and power at a greater price,'' says Steve Jobs, Apple's interim CEO.