PARIS, March 21 /PRNewswire/ --

- Programmes Sharing Windows Source Code Are Now Available in Seven More European Union Countries

Microsoft Corp. (Nasdaq: MSFT) today announced the expansion of its Shared Source Initiative (SSI) Windows(R) source code licensing programmes to seven additional countries in the European Union. The Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows CE and Windows Server(TM) 2003 shared source programmes will be made available to eligible enterprises, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), systems integrators, Microsoft Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs) and academic institutions in Cyprus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia. Launched in May 2001 and now encompassing 17 unique code-sharing programmes for various Microsoft technologies, the Shared Source Initiative is how Microsoft is sharing source code with customers, governments, partners, academics and individuals worldwide.

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With the availability of Microsoft(R) Windows source code licensing programmes to participants in these countries through the SSI, Microsoft is helping support existing customers, encouraging new development, supporting teaching and research, and creating new partner business opportunities. Each licensing programme under the SSI is tailored to the needs of a particular Microsoft constituent community. The continued growth of the SSI represents Microsoft's commitment to increasing the transparency of its source code and enabling those who would benefit from code access to build on Microsoft innovations.

"Transparency leads to greater trust and opportunity," said Jason Matusow, director of the Shared Source Initiative at Microsoft. "Over the past four years we have constantly looked for ways to expand the Shared Source Initiative -- across technologies, licence types and geographies to better listen to what our customers and partners are asking of us. Expanding the Windows source code access programmes to the whole of the EU is another important step in this process."

Microsoft began sharing Windows source code with academic institutions in 1991, and in 2001 the Shared Source Initiative was established to address broader customer interest and formalise a programme that allows access to a spectrum of Microsoft technologies ranging from Microsoft .NET technologies to embedded operating systems. Over the past four years, the Shared Source Initiative has grown to include more development and infrastructure technologies, most of which are licensed to allow developers to see, modify and redistribute changes to the source code.

"Access to Windows source code is an invaluable help in designing custom applications for our customers," said Pawel Deren, managing consultant, Prokom Software SA, a systems integrator based in Poland. "It is has improved our ability to trace functions in Windows using the debugging tools and to more deeply understand the components we are working with. Recently, we used the source code access to improve security integration with an enterprise application that will handle over 100,000 users."

As experts on the Windows platform, Microsoft MVPs are a diverse group of people from around the world who have two things in common: great expertise in one or more Microsoft products, and a willingness to share their expertise and experience with others. The MVP Source Licensing Program was designed with that community's unique needs for source-code access in mind. Raising the level of community support inspires greater participation and provides a stronger feedback loop for the improvement of Microsoft products. MVP feedback can help shape product development and research and provides a valuable link to customers for Microsoft.

"I think this is a great opportunity for MVPs to get a deeper insight into Windows," said Gyorgy Moldova, an MVP from Hungary. "I really enjoy the fact that I can dive deeply into the source code and find ways to enhance and optimise my development for Office and Windows. Just put the card in and go -- easy to use and also secure."

Currently Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows CE 3.0, Windows CE .NET, Windows CE 5.0, and components of Visual Studio(R) .NET, ASP.NET Starter Kits, Windows Installer XML (WiX), Windows Template Library (WTL) and FlexWiki have source code components available through the Shared Source Initiative. The Shared Source Initiative is an ongoing, evolving framework that will, over time, support additional source-access programmes for many of Microsoft's valued partners and constituent communities.

"The MVP Source Licensing Program is a great opportunity to get knowledge about internal Windows mechanisms," said Grzegorz Niemirowski, an MVP from Poland. "It's useful when one wants to create some low-level methods or use slightly documented API. Debug symbols are helpful during debugging Windows components."

Additional information about the Shared Source Initiative is available at http://www.microsoft.com/sharedsource .

About Microsoft

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About Microsoft EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)

Microsoft has operated in EMEA since 1982. In the region Microsoft employs more than 12,000 people in over 55 subsidiaries, delivering products and services in more than 139 countries and territories.

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