Microsoft offers stripped-down Windows to Mexico

Microsoft is expanding its Windows XP Starter Edition to include Mexico, with plans to eventually offer the low-cost operating system throughout Latin America.

The software maker said the Spanish-language Windows XP Starter Edition will be made available on new PCs starting immediately in Argentina and Mexico, with a goal of offering the OS throughout Latin America in the coming months. XP Starter Edition is similar to other flavours of Windows XP but is only offered as part of new low-end PCs in developing countries. It also has some limitations, such as the ability to run only three programs simultaneously.

Microsoft already offers the operating system in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand, however sales there are said to be off to a slow start. In recent months, the company has also launched in Brazil and India. Microsoft plans to offer a Russian version of Starter Edition as soon as the government finalises its low-cost PC program.

Among the companies partnering with Microsoft in Mexico are Advanced Micro Devices, Dell and Intel, as well as Mexican telecom company Telmex and local computer makers Hergo, Lanix and Texa.

Microsoft is also working with Infonavit, a state-owned mortgage agency that helps low- and moderate-income Mexicans purchase homes. Under a new programme, homebuyers will be able to finance a PC by including its cost on a mortgage.

Adam Wolf, a product manager in Microsoft's Windows XP Starter Edition, said: "It really becomes an incredible opportunity for folks in this income range to get a PC."

Ina Fried writes for CNET News.com