Software giant Microsoft has announced it will open some of the source codes of its products to the Chinese government in a bid to help the country improve risk estimation on its software range. The China Information Technology Security Certification Centre signed an agreement with the US-based company on Thursday, which allows the centre to use authorized codes and related information to test the security level of the company's products.
Among the products which will soon be accessed are the often-criticized Windows Vista, Microsoft's new-generation operating system.
The Windows XP, Window Server 2003 series and Microsoft Office applications are also included in the authorized list, according to a report by website Sohu.
A small part of the codes will be kept secrets to protect third parties, Chen Yongzheng, Chief Executive Officer for Microsoft Great China, said.
Microsoft's dominance of PC operating systems has been widely blamed for the rise of "open source" code, and many domestic companies suggest governments drop Microsoft to reduce security risks to their computers.
