Microsoft had previously indicated that users of pirated versions of its Office suite would be blocked from having access to its software downloads centre, under the company's Office Genuine Advantage (OGA) trial, currently underway in a number of non-English speaking countries. It was not clear, however, whether this meant that these users would not have access to security updates.

In conversations we have had with readers, many are supportive of Microsoft's efforts to stamp out software piracy. However, many are also worried that blocking critical security updates under any circumstances could aid the proliferation of malware on the internet. Microsoft appears to agree.

A Microsoft spokesperson said today: "We would never block security updates because that could put people in danger and we don't want to do that." The sort of software that would be blocked, the spokesperson said, would include add-ons such as wall-papers, smart-tags and clip-art.

According to a recent iTWire poll, the user community is uncertain over whether Microsoft should block critical security downloads for users of pirated copies of its Office software, with respondents being split down the middle on the issue.

A poll taken of iTWire readers over the weekend commencing 29 April received 233 responses to the question: "Should Microsoft block pirated Office users from downloading security updates?" Of the responses, 117 respondents answered No and 116 answered Yes.

The Microsoft spokesperson also stressed that the OGA trial is not underway in any English-speaking countries, although it is not clear whether it will be extended to English speakers at some stage in the future.

Microsoft appears to be taking a less aggressive approach in its OGA trial than it has with its Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) program. The software company has already stated that it will not send pirated Office users nagging alerts as it does with pirated Windows users. It is not clear whether not having access to additional wall-papers, clip-art or other non-essential software will be an effective means of persuading pirated Office users to pay up for a legitimate copy of Office.{moscomment}

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