JAKARTA, March 23: Indonesia is planning to eliminate the use of pirated software in government offices, an official said on Tuesday. The move comes nine months after the government introduced a tougher copyright law and launched what it termed a crackdown on sales of pirated software.

Representatives of government institutions have agreed to take an inventory of pirated software in government offices and negotiate with legal vendors for lower prices, said J.B. Kristiadi, a secretary to the information minister.

"It would be ironic if we break the law we made ourselves," Mr Kristiadi told AFP. He said the government was also considering using free operating systems software such as Linux.

"But whatever software we eventually use, the cost will be high," he said. Mr Kristiadi said the use of pirated software in Indonesia was widespread. Choo Hua Wee, country chairman of the Business Software Alliance, was quoted by Tuesday's Jakarta Post as saying about nine out of 10 computers in Indonesia use pirated software. -AFP