Microsoft: Asia Windows rival would raise concerns

Reuters | at | by Mike

A plan by Japan, China and South Korea to develop an alternative operating system to Microsoft's Windows software would raise concerns over fair competition, the world's No. 1 software maker said on Friday.

"We'd like to see the market decide who the winners are in the software industry," Tom Robertson, Microsoft's Tokyo-based director for government affairs in Asia, told Reuters in a telephone interview.

"Governments should not be in the position to decide who the winners are," Robertson said.

Robertson said that Microsoft had a "direct and open line of communication" with Japan's government over software security, standards and development.