Microsoft has unveiled a voice activated phone assistant feature called Cortana, which the company hopes will rival Apple's Siri service.

Multiple media outlets have speculated that Microsoft was working on a feature to rival Siri, but the company itself refused to say anything until now.

A test version was demonstrated by Joe Belfiore, a Windows Phone executive, during Microsoft's developer conference, according to Reuters.

The annual conference was held in San Francisco, C.A.

Microsoft has designed its Cortana service to take verbal instructions so that users can search the web, make calls, set alarms, and perform a number of other actions.

The service is still in beta testing, according to Belfiore.

Eventually, Microsoft will provide Cortana as a standard feature for all Windows phones.

Belfiore also announced that the company's smartphone software, called Windows Phone 8.1, will be released to customers worldwide in the next "few months," according to Reuters.

Windows Phone 8.1 will be available as a downloadable upgrade for Windows phones.

New phones running the software will hit stores sometime in late April or early May, according to Belfiore.

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