Thursday, April 20, 2006

Microsoft impresses Chinese president with "Home of the Future"

China's president Hu Jintao on Tuesday witnessed Microsft's advanced technological innovations, including the "Home of the Future."

Comfortably and tastefully furnished, the facility in Microsoft's Redmond Campus, just outside Seattle, is a model of the type of high-tech home the company envisions will be used in five to 10 years. Stepping into the living room, Hu was shown a screen which displayed digital photos of a typical family. With the movement of a Chinese vase, the photos changed to ones of places where Hu had lived or worked, including Beijing and Tibet as well as his alma mater Tsinghua University.

Mr. Hu told reporters later the tour "left a strong impression" on him.

"I'm especially happy that Microsoft and China have important cooperation. I myself and Mr Gates both believe this cooperation should be expanded and be steadily improved," Mr. Hu said.

China, which aims to move from being mainly a manufacturer of goods using cheap, low-skill labour to a knowledge and innovation-driven economy, sees a natural fit between itself and Microsoft, especially as Beijing is eager for technology transfers.

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