According to fresh rumors making rounds of late, software giant Microsoft - which already has its own branded Surface Windows RT-based tablet scheduled for launch later this month - is apparently working on new strides into the hardware arena --- with a Microsoft-branded Windows Phone 8 smartphone.

According to BGR - which first reported the development, citing information shared by unidentified `inside' sources -, the decision to launch a Windows 8-based Microsoft-branded handset marks the software company's efforts to give its forthcoming Windows Phone 8 platform a notable start in the fiercely-competitive mobile OS marketplace.

Despite the fact that Microsoft boasts a lineup of OEM partners - including Nokia, HTC, and Samsung - for launching devices running Windows Phone 8 this month, the company is seemingly set to follow a `lead by example' strategy by releasing its own smartphone, along the lines of a Microsoft-branded Surface tablet.

While rumors pertaining to Microsoft's release of its own branded smartphone still remain officially unsubstantiated, an unnamed source - other than the BGR sources - has reportedly revealed to China Times that the handset which Microsoft may launch will also be a `Surface' device.

Meanwhile, noting that Microsoft's decision about its own Windows Phone 8 handset "really makes sense," IHS iSuppli's senior analyst Wayne Lam said: "They wouldn't be doing it to steal market share away from Samsung or HTC. They'd be doing it to showcase what the platform can do."