Asia started the application of open source software

Many Asian countries and territories such as Cambodia, Japan, Indonesia, China, India, Pakistan, South Korea and Taiwan have begun switching to open source software to lower piracy rates and reduce The cost of buying software, according to presentations at the February 14 Asian open source software conference in Indonesia.

Open source software not only costs less but is also more secure.Red Hat is one of the open source software manufacturers - Photo: AP

In Indonesia, the government has developed and applied a number of open source software such as IGOS Nusantara 2006 to replace Windows and Open Office operating systems instead of MS Office text editing programs.

Meanwhile, the Cambodian government has started to use open source software earlier this year, according to Noy Shoung, deputy secretary general of Cambodia's Human Development Agency.

According to Mr. Katsuhiko Kaji, director of the Information Services Industry Department of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Japan, the country has transferred 20% of currently used software to open source software.

M.Huy