Open Malaysia

VietnamNet Bridge reports that:

"The government has approved the software industry development programme to 2010, in which priority will be given to the use of open source software in state-funded IT projects.

The state will encourage and assist organisations and businesses in providing services supporting the use of open source software.

According to this plan, the country aims to become one of the top 15 countries providing software outsourcing services in the world by 2010. Development of human resources in terms of quality and quantity is the key to the success of the software industry."

In the context of the many open source national initiatives worldwide along with the pilot OLPC deployments, it should be noted that Microsoft has announced a development initiative for the "billions" of people in developing countries to get exposed to ICT:

"Bringing the benefits of technology to the next five billion people will require new products that meet the needs of underserved communities; creative, new business approaches that make technology more relevant, accessible and affordable; and close collaboration between local governments, educational institutions and community organizations."

I'll leave it to the readers to draw their own conclusions on this latest turn of events.