Microsoft set to reveal Windows source code in India

A story in the Economic Times of India says the software monopolist has proposed to the Indian ministry of information technology to share the Windows source code with one unspecified government body. A Microsoft spokesman in India contacted by the publication confirmed the company was "evaluating the idea" of sharing the code but wouldn't be drawn further.

Other sources indicate that Microsoft is already engaged in working out the logistics of sharing the code and that Jason Matusow, the Vole's worldwide program manager for shared source program, has been in India to work out the details of the arrangement.

The development is undoubtedly prompted by the interest shown in the open source Linux in India. The Vole's most famous face, that of Bill Gates, recently tipped up in India to personally take on Linux on the front line. His tactic of offering $100 million to combat AIDS on the sub-continent was widely seen as a cynical move to increase Microsoft's profile there, in a bid to promote the virtues of Windows over the open source offering.

The Vole, of course, jealously guards the Windows source code but in a battle with an open source offering, the argument surely runs, "how come we can see this code, but not yours?"

Microsoft also plays down the threat posed by Linux to its position as king of the Oses. But as ex- Volish number three Rick Belluzzo intimated earlier this week, the word Linux draws an increasingly paranoid reaction inside the corridors of power in Redmond.

The company has previously released the Windows source code to clients but seems to hate to do so. The precedent set by this mooted high-profile move in India is likley to make the practice increasingly common, we reckon. µ
Here's the piece from the Economic Times of India .

See also:
India moving to Linux
Gates' India trip backfires
Bill Gates is saving India
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