A new vertical-cavity surface-emitting laser structure employing a thin microlens is suggested and numerically investigated. The laser can be made to emit in either a high-power Gaussian-shaped single-fundamental mode or a high-power doughnut-shaped higher-order mode. The physical origin of the mode selection properties of the new structure is rigorously analyzed and compared to other structures reported in the literature. The possibility of engineering the emission shape while retaining strong single mode operation is highly desirable for low-cost mid-range optical interconnects applications as well as the compact optical trapping of highrefractive-index dielectric particles and low-refractive-index, absorbing, or metallic particles.