Microsoft will seek to counter the rising popularity of Apple’s mobile “App Store”, one of the surprise hits of the consumer technology world last year, with the announcement on Monday of plans for a similar service to make it easier to load applications on to smartphones.

Speaking at the opening of the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, Steve Ballmer, Microsoft’s chief executive, is also set to announce a new user interface for devices running Microsoft’s software, including “touch” features to rival some of the functions of Apple’s iPhone.