Microsoft Works With China After Windows 8 Exclusion

Microsoft Corp., the world’s largest software maker, said it’s working with China’s government to evaluate its Windows 8 operating system after the software was excluded from a government purchasing order.

Microsoft, which continues to provide Windows 7 to government customers, was “surprised” to learn Windows 8 was shut out of China’s purchase of energy-efficient computers, Joanna Li, a Beijing-based spokeswoman for Microsoft, said in an e-mailed response to questions. The company learned of the decision in a notice from the China Central Government Procurement Center yesterday, she said.