Kathmandu, December 18:

The Microsoft Nepal has started to provide all of its genuine software free of cost to colleges, faculties and students in the country.

Free software hard disks comprising more than 350 software programmes of Microsoft have been provided to colleges, from where students can copy and install them in their personal computers. Independent activation keys were also being made available to the students and teachers.

The software includes operating systems, multimedia, server, database used in business, academic sectors and daily operations. Allen Bailochan Tuladhar, country manager, Microsoft, said they had targeted to provide free software to 3,000 students by the end of 2008 while

the software will be available to a maximum number of colleges and more than 30,000 students of the country by 2009.

“It is an initiative to make professional computing programmes accessible to as many students as possible for their professional and personal development,” Tuladhar said, adding, “The free access is a way to provide the advantages of science and technology to a maximum number of people.” However, the software will be available to faculties and students only after registration with Microsoft Nepal.