Microsoft is to launch a cheaper version of its Windows XP operating system in the emerging markets of Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand in an effort to halt the rise of low-cost Linux software.

Microsoft’s new software – dubbed “XP Lite” – will feature lower resolution graphics and limited options for networking computers together.

It will also limit users to running three programs concurrently – a far cry from the full version of XP, where the only practical limit comes from the speed of the computer and the size of its memory.

It will be available initially in Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and two other as yet unspecified Asian countries.

Microsoft said it hoped the new software would also help deter consumers from buying pirated versions of its XP system, widely available in many Asian countries.

Why Microsoft think anyone would go for a hobbled version of Windows XP allowing them only run 3 applications simultaneously when they could have a fully functioning version of Linux for free is beyond me!