Summary: China has banned Windows 8 from being installed on new computers. Microsoft tells ZDNet it was surprised by the decision. 
 
 In a major blow to Microsoft, China has mysteriously announced it will exclude Windows 8 from newly-procured government computers. 
 
 In a brief statement on the Central Government Procurement Centre's website about a particular class of energy-saving products, the agency noted that new government computers are forbidden from having Windows 8 installed. 
 
 The motivations for the ban are somewhat mysterious, with no explanation for why Windows 8 has been excluded from public sector machines. 
 
 However, China's official news bureau Xinhua claims the move is the Chinese government's response to Microsoft's recent end to support and security updates for Windows XP, which still runs most government computers. 
 
 According to Xinhua, the government has "moved to avoid the awkwardness of being confronted with a similar situation again in future if it continues to purchase computers with [a] foreign OS". 
 
 While Microsoft has stopped providing updates to the general public for Windows XP, it is offering extended support to enterprise customers, such as the Netherlands government and the UK government, which have signed multi-million dollar contracts with Microsoft to provide support for remaining XP computers. 
 
 As Reuters notes, it's not clear how the ban on Windows 8 is related to the use of energy-savings products. 
 
 Xinhua also notes the Chinese government's ambitions to develop and use its own Linux-based OS, similar to its efforts launch a homegrown mobile OS. 
 
 China launched the Linux-based China Operating System (COS) for smartphones in January. However, the UI quickly drew comparisons to HTC's Android Sense interface. Other locally made OSes include Ubuntu-based Kylin and StartOS, but Xinhua notes these haven't gained much traction with local buyers yet. 
 
 Qi Xiangdong, president of Chinese antivirus and software vendor Qihoo 360, told Xinhua the first step to supporting a homegrown OS is to promote the use of Chinese-designed OS among official users, while civilians would be free to choose their OS. 
 
 According to the latest figures from Net Market Share, Windows XP machines account for more than 37 percent of desktops in use in China. 
 
 Update at 12:50pm ET: In a statement to ZDNet Microsoft said it was "surprised" by the decision to exclude Windows 8 from bidding but that it would continue to provide Windows 7 to agencies. 
 
 "This morning, the China Central Government Procurement Center posted a notification titled 'Bidding Process for Government Purchasing Energy-efficient IT Products.' The notification indicates that the Windows 8 operating system is excluded in the bidding," the company said in a statement. 
 
 "We were surprised to learn about the reference to Windows 8 in this notice. Microsoft has been working proactively with the Central Government Procurement Center and other government agencies through the evaluation process to ensure that our products and services meet all government procurement requirements. We have been and will continue to provide Windows 7 to government customers. At the same time, we are working on the Window 8 evaluation with relevant government agencies." 
 
 Read more on Windows XP ||||| A Microsoft Surface tablet is seen during the launch of Microsoft Windows 8 operating system in Hong Kong October 26, 2012. 
 
 BEIJING China has banned government use of Windows 8, Microsoft Corp's latest operating system, a blow to a U.S. technology company that has long struggled with sales in the country. 
 
 The Central Government Procurement Center issued the ban on installing Windows 8 on Chinese government computers as part of a notice on the use of energy-saving products, posted on its website last week. 
 
 The official Xinhua news agency said the ban was to ensure computer security after Microsoft ended support for its Windows XP operating system, which was widely used in China. 
 
 "We were surprised to learn about the reference to Windows 8 in this notice," the company said in a statement. "Microsoft has been working proactively with the Central Government Procurement Center and other government agencies through the evaluation process to ensure that our products and services meet all government procurement requirements." 
 
 "We have been and will continue to provide Windows 7 to government customers. At the same time we are working on the Window 8 evaluation with relevant government agencies," Microsoft said. 
 
 Neither the government nor Xinhua elaborated on how the ban supported the use of energy-saving products or how it ensured security. 
 
 China has long been a troublesome market for Microsoft. Former CEO Steve Ballmer reportedly told employees in 2011 that, because of piracy, Microsoft earned less revenue in China than in the Netherlands even though computer sales matched those of the United States. 
 
 Last month, Microsoft ended support for the 13-year-old Windows XP to encourage the adoption of newer, more secure versions of Windows. This has potentially left XP users vulnerable to viruses and hacking. 
 
 "China's decision to ban Windows 8 from public procurement hampers Microsoft's push of the OS to replace XP, which makes up 50 percent of China's desktop market," said data firm Canalys. 
 
 (Reporting by Paul Carsten and Beijing Newsroom; editing by G Crosse and Christopher Cushing) ||||| BEIJING, May 20 (Xinhua) -- China has announced that it will forbid the use of the Windows 8 operating system (OS) in new government computers, a move to ensure computer security after the shutdown of Windows XP. 
 
 All desktops, laptops and tablet PCs to be purchased by central state organs must be installed with OS other than Windows 8, according to an online statement by the Central Government Procurement Center. 
 
 The measure only targets computers used by government offices, while the personal computer market is expected to stay unaffected. 
 
 Currently, most government computers run Windows XP, which has a 70-percent market share in China. But Microsoft ended support for this 13-year-old system on April 8, arousing safety concerns and appeals for domestically designed OS. 
 
 Despite major Chinese software security companies having promised to provide technical assistance to guard against risks, Windows XP users have remained fearful about potential dangers such as hacker attacks. 
 
 And the Chinese government obviously cannot ignore the risks of running OS without guaranteed technical support. It has moved to avoid the awkwardness of being confronted with a similar situation again in future if it continues to purchase computers with foreign OS. 
 
 Apart from purchase restrictions for central government offices, China will focus on the development of its own OS based on Linux, a move which An Yang, a security expert with Qihoo 360 Technology, said was a necessity although progress has been disappointing. 
 
 Qi Xiangdong, president of Qihoo 360, said this is a great opportunity for Chinese IT companies to nurture their own OS. 
 
 There are several Linux-based OS developed by Chinese companies, such as KylinOS and StartOS, but they have not proved popular. 
 
 An said the first step is to promote the use of Chinese-designed OS among official users, while their popularity among civilian users will be subject to market forces. 
 
 (To stay up to date with the latest China news, follow XHNews on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/XHNews and Xinhua News Agency on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/XinhuaNewsAgency.)
– If you work for the Chinese government, you'd better not get caught installing Windows 8. Beijing has banned the use Microsoft's newest operating system on new government computers after Microsoft stopped supporting Windows XP, which is widely used in China, last month, Reuters reports. The Windows 8 ban is a security measure following Microsoft's move, according to the official state news bureau. The government's goal is "to avoid the awkwardness" of a "similar situation" in the future, Xinhua says, via ZDNet. The ban was announced amid a call for the use of greener products. But officials haven't explained how the new rule boosts security or reduces energy use, Reuters notes. The ban creates another hurdle for Microsoft in a country where its products have seen sales struggles. It also comes as China is working on building its own operating system, ZDNet reports.