Microsoft has lobbied state legislators in the US to introduce a law which would prevent a business selling goods and services if one of its (possibly foreign) suppliers was found to be using pirated Microsoft software.

To its eternal shame, the UK Government uses far less open source than most. Worse, it seems to have a closed mind to the whole idea.

It's probably safe to say that most Americans, at one time or another, have felt they could do a better job of governing the nation than their elected officials. It may even be safe, in fact, to say that that has never been more true than it is today.

In a resounding victory for Microsoft Corp., bills seeking to mandate the use of open document formats by government agencies have been defeated in five states, and only a much-watered-down version of such legislation was signed into law in a sixth state.