Gates shares his secrets with Russia

NEWS Bill Gates has given Russian government officials and techies the honour of being the first individuals outside Microsoft to see the coveted source code. The announcement follows news last week that the company is ready and willing to share its controversial code with international governments looking to better configure and protect their software. Previously Microsoft's source code was as closely guarded a secret as the recipe for Coca Cola and the software giant fought off and resisted all attempts, both legal and commercial, to see it. Until now. Olga Dergunova, managing director of Microsoft's Moscow office, told Reuters: "Russia is the first country to sign such an agreement with us, but it will not be the only one." Governments will now be able to adapt their in-house software and Microsoft's Windows OS according to their needs. A need for greater security at government level is likely to be the biggest motivator for taking Microsoft up on its offer. Russia will receive the first instalment of the code next month.