N-trig's technology allows people to use a finger or stylus on a computer screen

Apple's iPhone has opened up consumers' minds to the power of navigating computers through touch. Now, Microsoft is joining with four venture fims to invest $24 million in N-trig, an Israel-based startup that allows computer users to more easily peruse screens with the touch of a stylus or finger. The investment comes at a good time for Microsoft, since it plans to incorporate multi-touch technology in the Windows 7 operating system, which is due out in the next 12 months.

“By simulating the way people write and touch naturally, N-trig is helping to make it easier to navigate your PC and enable a new class of Windows experiences,” said Ian LeGrow, Group Program Manager for Windows Client at Microsoft Corp. in a statement.

Other investors in the deal include Aurum Ventures, Challenger Ltd., Canaan Partners, Evergreen Venture Partners. The N-trig technology is currently operating in Dell’s Latitude XT, with a recent launch as well of HP’s TouchSmart tx2.

More from Nick Wingfield of The Wall Street Journal, who writes that it is gamble by Microsoft that people will control their computers with touch rather than a mouse.