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By Lisa Burroughes, 24 March 1999 17:52

NEWS The Argentinian government has signed an agreement with Microsoft to crack down on software piracy. In exchange, Microsoft will put the South American nation at the heart of its manufacturing strategy for all its Spanish language products. Shortly before Argentina's president Carlos Menem was due to address executives from Latin America's top 250 companies this week, he signed four memorandums of understanding with Microsoft chief, Bill Gates. In the agreement, Menem committed to cracking down on the enforcement of Argentina's intellectual property law. In return, the Argentinian government will get full Microsoft backing to make the country a leading software producer for all Spanish language products - a move that could create thousands of jobs. David Gregory, anti-piracy manager for Microsoft UK, said: "This confirms that governments are taking a lead role in software piracy and they understand how important the growth of the IT industry can be for their industry." Although exact details of the agreement have not been revealed, Gregory believes the Argentine economy can only benefit from cracking down on illegal copies of software. He explained: "For example, in the UK, if software piracy was reduced from its current level of 31 per cent to the US level of 27 per cent, 31,000 jobs would be created and £610m could be raised in tax revenue that would go back into the treasury." The Business Software Alliance refused to comment on the agreement, but a spokesman said: "There is a direct correlation between jobs and the high-tech industry. It's an important part of the economy and it is up to governments to make it a legitimate part of the economy where it can be taxed and regulated rather than letting it fall into the hands of the blackmarket." He added that he expects a number of similar agreements to evolve in other parts of the world over the coming months.