Microsoft is expected to unveil a new line of cellphones next week with social-networking capabilities aimed at young consumers, The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday. The company is set to announce its long-awaited "Project Pink" phones in an event in San Francisco on April 12. According to a Reuters report, the new phones will be sold by top U.S. mobile operator Verizon Wireless and it will be manufactured by Sharp. Microsoft will do the coding behind the hood, as the new phones are expected to run the Windows 7 Mobile operating system due out later this year.

In photos leaked to a tech blog last month, the new phones appear to be stylish, updated versions of Microsoft's Sidekick device, which is popular with the youth market. Sharp is the manufacturer of Sidekick.

Microsoft hopes its Windows Phone 7 will win back share from BlackBerry maker Research in Motion and iPhone maker Apple, and beat back newcomer Google, which is making ground with Android-powered phones and its own Nexus One.