Hold onto your coffee mugs, people! Microsoft has confirmed in a statement that it is not extending support for Windows XP in China. The company explained that what it posted on the Chinese social networking site has been misunderstood.
Fueled by a posting on Sina Weibo word got out yesterday that the company was ready to extend support for the aging platform in the country due to the fact that an overwhelming amount of users in China are still using Windows XP.
But a company spokesperson has provided an accurate English translation of the Chinese post in a statement to ZDNet, which confirms that the platform will be retired as previously scheduled.
Having said that, Microsoft plans to work with local security vendors in ensuring that Windows XP users are protected until they migrate to a newer version of the operating system:
“Microsoft China has taken special actions to closely work with leading Chinese internet security and anti-virus companies including Tencent for them to provide security protection for Chinese Windows XP users before they upgrade to modern operating system.”
A classic case of lost in translation, then.
Windows XP is currently the second most popular operating system in the world, with a market share hovering around the 29 percent mark, according to the newest statistics.
Microsoft is now in the final stretch of its efforts to convince users to upgrade, before the April 8 cutoff date whereby Windows XP will no longer receive security updates and patches.
