Microsoft has ceased production of the Chinese version of its  operating system（OS） Windows Millennium edition  （Windows Me） in China, due to the recent application  of the national standard GB18030, which says that  all OSs released after March 17, 2000 must have the  capacity to recognize and process some 27,484 Chinese  characters,according to today's China Daily.

    The impact of the national standard, however,  will be slight to the US software giant.

    Those products which fail to meet these requirements  should stop being produced from September 1, 2001.

    The Chinese version of Windows Me, released in  April 2000, falls into this category.

    "We will observe the Chinese laws and regulations  and this is the main reason for the termination of  Windows Me,"said Jennifer Ma, a product manager with  the software business.

    She also assured customers that the product would  not affect current systems and that Chinese characters  in Windows Me would be enough for ordinary users.

    Since the sales of Windows Me is one of the smallest  among Microsoft's products, the business will not  suffer a big economic loss.

    The company has released its Windows 2000 and  is expected to release Windows XP in China, in November.  Both of these have met the national standard, so the  sales of these two products will satisfy customer  demand, according to Ma.