Converting VBScript's CreateObject Function
Definition: Creates and returns a reference to an Automation object.
CreateObject
In Windows PowerShell you create new COM objects by using the New-Object Cmdlet. To do so call New-Object, passing the Cmdlet the -comobject parameter, which tells Windows PowerShell to create a new COM object rather than, say, a new .NET Framework object. The -comobject parameter is then followed by the ProgID of the COM object.
For example, the following two commands create an instance of Microsoft Excel and then, just to prove that the first command did create an instance of Excel, the second command makes the application visible onscreen:
$a = new-object -comobject Excel.Application
$a.visible = $True
Incidentally, when using the New-Object Cmdlet you might want to add the -strict parameter, like so:
$a = new-object -comobject Excel.Application -strict
That helps ensure that you are working with a true COM object and not a COM wrapper around a .NET object.