Pirated Windows 7 debuts in China, before Oct 22 official launch

According to Reuters, pirated versions of Windows 7 are already on sale in the small shops of Beijing, China - including the Chinese language version of the software. The Chinese have been able to buy pirated copies this month for just 20 yuan ($3.14) each for a copy of the operating system.

It is estimated that about 80 percent of software sold in China was pirated last year. The Business Software Alliance says the software industry lost more than $6.6 billion in China last year to piracy, second only to the US.

"The big issue that is driving piracy in China today is price. If you're trying to sell a program that costs 2000 Yuan to a student living on 400 Yuan a month, that's simply not going to work out for most consumers," said Matthew Cheung, an analyst at Gartner, another research firm.

Microsoft seems to have bowed to consumer pressure by cutting the price of its Office 2007 Home and Student Edition. It will also sell its low-end Windows 7 Home Basic version for just $64  but is still way too expensive by Chinese standards.

In its attempt to battle piracy in China, Microsoft launched an unconventional campaign last year that caused a black screen to be displayed every hour for users of pirated Windows XP. It backfired. Microsoft saw more of its Chinese users migrate to free software from domestic companies like Kingsoft as a result.

It remains to be seen how the Chinese authorities will step up in its act to curb software piracy which has been an ongoing sour spot in China's relations with its major Western trading partners.