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08/30/2001 Entry: "Nations uniting for open source"

News: Nations uniting for open source

Governments around the world have found a new rallying cry--"Software libre!"--and Microsoft is working overtime to quell it.


A recent global wave of legislation is compelling government agencies, and in some cases government-owned companies, to use open-source or free software unless proprietary software is the only feasible option.


This legal movement, earliest and most pronounced in Brazil, but also showing signs of catching on elsewhere in Latin America, Europe and Asia, is finding ready converts as governments struggle to close sometimes vast digital divides with limited information-technology budgets. So far, there is no evidence that similar legislation is being considered anywhere in the United States, experts said.