Windows 7 pirates in China

Chinese bootleggers are now selling copies of Microsoft’s new Windows 7 operating system just days before its launch on 22 October.

Pirates are reportedly selling the copies for as little as $3.14, according to a News.com.au report, despite prices reaching up to $469 in Australia for the official versions of the software.

“The big issue that is driving piracy in China today is price,” said Gartner analyst Matthew Cheung. “If you’re trying to sell a program that costs 2,000 yuan to a student living on 400 yuan a month, that’s simply not going to work out for most consumers.”

The reports come as new figures from IDC suggest about 80% of all software sold in China was pirated last year – about four times the amount in other markets including Japan and the US.