Microsoft does not expect to see a return on its upcoming Zune portable media device for several years, according to a top executive at the company. 

Robbie Bach, president of the software giant's entertainment and devices division, stated that it would take three to five years before Microsoft reaped anything from its "hundreds of millions of dollars of investment" in Zune.

"It is something that is going to take time," he told financial analysts yesterday. "We think of this over several years. This is not a six-month investment."

Microsoft announced last week that it planned to release the Zune music and entertainment player, along with accompanying software, in the US later this year. Zune is expected to be launched in the UK and other regions in 2007. 

The device will tie into other Microsoft efforts, including Xbox, Media Center and the Live Anywhere gaming service. "It enables us to complete the picture," said Bach.

Zune is seen as a direct but belated challenge to Apple's iPod and iTunes.  "We have to drive a new brand," said Bach. "We have to drive people who think about iPod as the brand, to think about other things."