Chinese government bans Windows 8 from its computers

China's government says it will avoid buying PCs running Windows 8, in a setback for Microsoft's efforts to promote the operating system.

The government is the largest buyer of computer software in China, which in turn is the largest PC market in the world, and now larger than the US. A decision there to avoid Windows 8 could have a long-term effect.

The announcement, posted on a government news site on Tuesday, said desktop, laptop and tablet personal computers bought for government use must use a "different" operating system, without specifying which one. The Central Government Procurement Centre said the ban was part of a notice on the use of energy-saving products, Reuters reported.

Some PC suppliers are still able to supply machines running the older Windows 7 software, which might satisfy the government under the new rules.

The announcement was posted last week, suggesting that the move is not a retaliation for the decision by the US to charge five Chinese military officials with hacking into US companies and organisations to steal data.

China still has the largest user base of PCs running Microsoft's 13-year-old Windows XP, for which support was withdrawn in April. As much as 50% of the PCs there are still running XP, according to the research firm Canalys.

Microsoft wants customers to switch to Windows 8, though a substantial number have not because of the expense and inconvenience.