Vietnam government opts for open source

Vietnamese authorities have ruled that all government desktop computers must run open source operating systems by 2005.

According to a report in siliconvalley.com, officials said the move is being carried out in an attempt to curb the rampant levels of software piracy in the country.

By "trying step by step to eliminate Microsoft'', said an official quoted in the report, the government hopes to popularise open-source alternatives and so reduce the average citizen's demand for illegal copies of commercial software.

Vietnam needs to reduce the levels of software piracy to meet requirements of a free trade deal signed two years ago with the US and to join the World Trade Organization by 2005.

As part of the move to popularise software such as the Linux operating system and open-source office applications, all PCs made and sold in Vietnam will come with such software already installed. Schools will also be equipped with PCs running open source operating systems and applications, said the report.

Recently, other Asian countries such as Korea and China have also announced plans to have a quota of civil service PCs run open source software.

Among the reasons cited were to reduce commercial software license fees, freedom from foreign-owned technology, greater security, curbing the number of infections from Windows-based viruses and to gain technological leadership on platforms relatively free of dominance by large multinational corporations.

Staff CNET Asia