photo: China Daily

It was reported in China Daily that software vendors in Beijing are already selling pirated versions of the Windows 7 operating system after its official China release on Oct 23.

Hailong Plaza, one of the largest markets selling electronic products in Zhongguancun, is a hot spot where pirated version of Windows 7 is sold.

Piracy software vendors have kept a low profile when selling the pirated operating system due to a tough government attitude and Microsoft’s aggressive marketing campaigns.

The demand for Windows 7 is high and vendors are able to sell up to 20 copies a day, and often sold out. Microsoft is offering the world’s cheapest retail price of Windows 7 to Chinese customers at 399 yuan ($58) each, but a lot of Chinese still think it is too expensive.