VietNamNet Bridge - Viet Nam has officially become a member of Asianux, an organisation dedicated to the development of free software, Deputy Minister of Science and Technology Tran Quoc Thang has announced.

He was speaking at a recent symposium on open source software (OSS) in Ha Noi, organised by the Ministry of Science and Technology, the Ministry of Education and Training, the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry and other agencies related to the IT sector.

“Viet Nam’s entry marks a new step in the country’s advancement in the IT sector in general and the availability of the OSS in particular,” Thang said.

Over the past four years, Viet Nam has adopted policies designed to encourage the development and application of the OSS, resulting in a total of between 14,000 and 20,000 personal computers using OpenOffice, Firefox, Unikey and other free software.

Experts say the development of the OSS enables developing countries to gain wider access to a range of software solutions, helping them increase their investment efficiency, better meet the demands of the poor and assist them in adapting to different indigenous languages and cultures.

Prior to Viet Nam joining Asianux, its membership consisted of Japan, China and South Korea.

(Source: VNA)