China Says It's Not Investigating Microsoft

The denial comes a day after China state media said the government's State Intellectual Property Office was investigating Microsoft and several other software vendors for allegedly charging more for their products in China than in other countries.

In a notice on its Chinese language Website, China's State Intellectual Property Office says the reports were "seriously untrue," according to an English translation obtained by the Associated Press. Microsoft has also denied knowledge of the investigation.

Earlier this week, an anonymous source quoted by China's Shanghai Securities News said a package consisting of one copy of Windows and one copy of Office can cost more than $1,000 -- more than the price of a new PC in China -- and that this was typical of Microsoft's practice of charging more for its software in China than in other countries.

The Chinese government passed what it described as an 'anti-monopoly' law last year that takes effect August 1, and there has been speculation that this could spur a wave of litigation against Microsoft and other software vendors over pricing and the abuse of a monopoly position.

Travel writer Paul Theroux, in his book Riding The Iron Rooster, an account of his train travels in China, says that nothing in China can ever be truly believed until the Chinese government has issued a formal denial. Given the vitriol with which the Chinese government has railed against any form of hegemony, both real and perceived, we probably haven't heard the last of this story.