Although it's only been a few days since Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer told the audience at the 2011 Japanese Microsoft Developers Conference that his company would not be releasing Windows 8 until 2012 (a statement that Microsoft later retracted), Bloomberg Businessweek reports that the company will preview an early version of its new, tablet-centric OS as soon as next week.

Bloomberg cites three anonymous sources familiar with Microsoft's plans that say the company will display a touchscreen tablet running on NVIDIA's ARM-based Tegra chip. Windows President Steven Sinofsky will present at the All Things D conference, and VP Steve Guggenheimer will appear at Computex in Taipei, according to Bloomberg. 

Microsoft representatives declined comment, but Ballmer hinted at the newfound urgency in a speech in New Delhi: "We are in a race," he reportedly said. "We are not doing that badly, frankly. We are doing pretty well in that race. But the race is on to continue to push Windows to a variety of new form factors." 

While the new OS will not be available until next year, "the company is eager to show it is moving forward, seeking to generate demand among computer makers and chip suppliers," Bloomberg's Ian King and Dina Bass write.