Unlimited NuMedia Private Limited and Microsoft Corporation jointly launched Nepali version of Microsoft Windows XP and Microsoft Office 2003 in Kathmandu on Tuesday.

"Preservation of culture, tradition and language through the use of new technology will be more easier and effective," vice chancellor of Royal Nepal Academy Basudev Tripathi said.

He said that Nepali version of Windows will be a window to the world for Nepalese people.

Inaugurating the new version, the chancellor said that it will now be possible to bring the advantages of information technology to the rural masses, where the biggest challenge so far has been the language barriers, as less than 10 percent of the Nepali people are well versed in English.

"It will also help bridge the gap created by the existing digital divide in information technology and to extend Nepali language to the national and international level," Tripathi added.

The people with computer access will be increased to 55 percentfrom the present 2 percent and the sale of personal computers willbe multiplied by many folds with the introduction of the new Nepali version of windows, according to Allen Tuladhar, CEO of Unlimited NuMedia.

The record shows that there were 500,000 computer sales in the past 15 years but the same amount will be sold in a year now, Tuladhar said.

Microsoft has decided not to charge any license fees for the use of the localized editions of the new product, which has been under development for the last one year together with its local partner Unlimited NuMedia.

Source: Xinhua