Windows has had virtual desktops for years. There's a Desktops powertoy for this.

http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/power-toy-microsofts-virtual-de...

It's not built in functionality which makes a lot of people irate. The thing is nobody would know what to do with it on Windows. Windows users aren't taught about multiple desktop session, virtual desktops, etc.

Apparently now that Metro is out there for lightweight users, there is more scope for making things like Virtual Desktops for power users - see

"Windows UI designer explains why forcing Metro on all is great for power users"

http://www.pcworld.com/article/2098585/windows-ui-designer-e...

I forget where I read this, but the Windows team is certainly aware of virtual desktops and has made a conscious choice not to include them, even as an option.

The Sysinternals Suite has a utility for this: Desktops v2.0 [0].

[0] http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/cc817881.aspx

I've been using VirtuaWin (http://virtuawin.sourceforge.net/) for a number of years to get virtual desktops on windows. It's a little of a pain to get installed & configured exactly as I want it, but it (along with selected plugins) get awfully close to replicating the MATE / Gnome2 virtual desktop system.

It's been an official PowerToy since XP. Mounting .iso was too and is now finally native in 8, so give 4/5 generations.

Dexpot is very good for that, feels basically native if you set it up right.