Microsoft plans to backport a 'ribbon' user interface feature it introduced in Windows 7 to Windows Vista, according to the company's developer website.

The ribbon framework, part of Windows 7's graphical presentation layer, is an interface that uses a visual command bar at the top of the page to direct a user to menu items and tool bars that were previously hidden in drop-down menus.

Microsoft first introduced the ribbon with the 'Fluent' interface for its Office 2007 product, which at first caused some transition pains for users who were used to the previous interface.

More information about the Windows Ribbon framework can be found on the MSDN site.