The world of open source development could be divided if the European Commission (EC) succeeds in passing a law extending consumer protection rules to software, according to experts.

In a document published last week, the EC states among others that the Commission will prefer Open Source software for its new IT projects: "For all new development, where deployment and usage is foreseen by parties outside of the Commission Infrastructure, Open Source Software will be the preferred development and deployment platform."

Industry groups criticized and praised on Monday what they consider is a bias in favor of open-source software in the European Commission's plans to update the rules governing industry standard technologies.

"The changes mandated by the European Commission in Microsoft's interoperability licences will continue to block Open Source developers, legal experts on this type of software say..."

The Open Source Repository and Observatory (OSOR), a new site sponsored by the European Commission to foster the exchange of FOSS related information and software among European public administrations, recently published guidelines on the procurement of open source software.

The European Commission will propose in the next few days to buy more of its computer software from open-source developers, a commission spokeswoman said Wednesday.

The European Commission will take a more pro-active approach to its own use of Open Source and Open Standards. Xavier Heymans highlights the importance of a real and mature collaboration with communities where IT providers share their developments and adopt an "open source" philosophy.

In many African countries, few people have access to computers and the Internet. Experts say this is hindering development and preventing students from being able to compete for jobs.

Access to already-leaked documents is denied, despite clear rules that make it an obligation