Update
In a statement to ZDNet, Microsoft has clarified that its statements have been misinterpreted and that it is not treating China any different from the rest of the world.
“Microsoft China has taken special actions to closely work with leading Chinese internet security and anti-virus companies including Tencent for them to provide security protection for Chinese Windows XP users before they upgrade to modern operating system”, reads the statement.
Original Story
Microsoft has decided to continue supporting Windows XP in China unlike rest of the world where it will be pulling the plug on 14-year old operating system on April 8, 2014.
Microsoft announced its decision through a post on its official Sina Weibo account on Sunday. The update is in the form of an image rather than a link to its website.
The primary reason behind Microsoft’s decision of extending Windows XP support in China seems to be the large user base which is still clinging on to the OS. According to recent stats on CNZZ.com as many as 54 percent of Chinese computers are still running Windows XP and that is over 25 percent points higher than the global share of 29 percent.
Redmond will be partnering with local security vendors to continue supporting Windows XP. It is not yet clear how Microsoft will be chalking out the support strategy.
Microsoft’s decision of continuing support for Windows XP seems to be in contradiction with one of the statements it has made in the Sunday post. The Windows 8 maker has revealed that 70 percent of Windows XP users in China have never opted to update their operating systems with security updates rolled out by Microsoft.
