NEW YORK: China has banned the use of Microsoft’s latest operating system on government computers, as part of a decree about the use of energy-saving products.

However, Xinhua, the official Chinese news agency, said security concerns related to foreign operating systems had led to the move. Microsoft said it was surprised, but insisted it would continue to provide older versions of its software to Chinese authorities.

Xinhua said Beijing had felt compelled to act after Microsoft ended security support for its Windows XP operating system, which is still widely used in China.

A Microsoft spokesman said the Chinese government’s procurement department had posted a notification online barring Windows 8 from bidding for public sector deals.

The spokesman said: “We were surprised to learn about the reference to Windows 8 in this notice.”

Published in Dawn, May 21st, 2014