BRUSSELS, Belgium and VIENNA, Austria, December 2 /PRNewswire/ --

- EU recognises Microsoft's partner organisations for helping people find 
and retain jobs.

Microsoft Corp today announced it will invest an additional 5 million
euro in cash and software in non-governmental organisations (NGO) that run
community skills training projects in 30 countries across Europe. This
investment is part of Microsoft's long-term commitment to foster skills and
drive growth through creating employability opportunities for young
unemployed, seniors and people with disabilities. The company is committed to
increasing its investments with projects and partners in the areas of
education, employability, digital literacy and building the capacity of NGOs,
despite the current economic climate.

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"A skilled IT workforce is essential to creating new jobs and fuelling
economic growth in Europe, yet almost 300 million Europeans have no e-skills
today. We hope to bridge this gap by investing into community-based projects
to further advance e-inclusion in Europe," said Jan Muehlfeit, Microsoft's
Europe Chairman.

Through its Unlimited Potential Community Technology Skills Program
Microsoft has responded to the e-inclusion and e-skills deficit identified by
the European Commission. Microsoft has developed an inclusive approach,
partnering with NGOs, industry and other stakeholders. Over the next three
years, it will reach 4.7 million people in over 3,000 Community Technology
Centers across Europe. Microsoft is also supporting the launch of
Telecentre-Europe.org at the e-Inclusion Ministerial Conference in
Vienna. The network of telecentres is dedicated to strengthening digital
inclusion actions through knowledge exchange and advocacy.

Nine community-based projects supported by Microsoft were shortlisted in
six award categories for this year's EU ministerial e-Inclusion conference
awards. Milton Keynes Council from the UK, and Window to the Future from
Lithuania, received the awards in the Cultural Diversity and the Digital
Literacy categories respectively.

"We are enormously proud of the partner organisations that won these
awards. It is an excellent recognition of their hard work and dedication to
e-inclusion," Muehlfeit said. "For Microsoft every single project is a
winner, as each one demonstrates that projects focused on helping people find
and retain jobs in Europe is vital to the economy."

The announcement also represents Microsoft's support for Europe's vision
of an inclusive information society for Europe 2020. The people in training
today will be the workforce of tomorrow's Europe, and in the current economic
climate, specific focus needs to be paid to training today's workers for
tomorrow's jobs. This ongoing vision is part of Microsoft's drive to be a
strong European partner and help grow the European economy.

Last year, Microsoft invested almost 50 million euro into various
e-inclusion projects. This investment is helping community organisations
and NGOs through in kind and money donations and creating a one-stop portal
for non-profit organisations, NGO Connection (
http://www.microsoft.com/ngo/en/us/default.mspx). Also through Microsoft
Unlimited Potential initiatives in Central and Eastern Europe which aim at
transforming education, enabling jobs and fostering local innovation.
Microsoft also supports educational initiatives such as providing grants,
training and curriculum to enhance teaching and learning across the region.
Moreover, Microsoft has work closely with more than 40 assistive technology
vendors in Europe so that the best products and services are delivered to
people with disabilities, and has provided seed funding to create and launch
the Accessibility Interoperability Alliance.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realise
their full potential.

About Microsoft EMEA (Europe, Middle East and Africa)

Microsoft has operated in EMEA since 1982. In the region Microsoft
employs more than 16,000 people in over 64 subsidiaries, delivering products
and services in more than 139 countries and territories.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION ON MICROSOFT PARTNERED COMMUNITY-BASED PROJECTS

Winners of the 2008 e-Inclusion awards (awarded at the 2008 EU
ministerial conference on e-Inclusion - Vienna, 1 December 2008)

Winner in the Cultural Diversity category:

Milton Keynes Council - United Kingdom

ConnectMK/Digital MK supports people on low incomes and those from
excluded groups to improve their lives through the use of digital technology.
Initiatives range from distributing low cost PCs, (refurbished,
well-specified, ex-council PCs and laptops) and providing tele-health
initiatives to improve the accessibility of online public services.

The collaboration with Microsoft has provided Milton Keynes Council with
a unique tool to help reduce the impact of environmental waste by
refurbishing PCs and then providing them to people without access to a PC.
This enables them to develop new skills at the lowest possible cost. The
Scheme also supports the Milton Keynes Council Plan and other community plans
to promote community cohesion and economic prosperity. Not only does
Microsoft provide software with the 'Citizens Skills Pack', including a.o.
Word, Excel, PowerPoint, MS Live Suite and Internet Safety, but the
organisation also enables citizens to rent refurbished PCs for a nominal fee
of pounds Sterling 1.5 a week to assist their digital inclusion, adult
learning and small business programmes. Microsoft's investments and funds
have enabled the Milton Keynes Council to deliver digital inclusion solutions
and become an e-inclusion nominee.

Winner in the Digital Literacy category:

Window to the Future: Association "Langas i ateiti" - Lithuania

The Window 2 Future project from the Langas i ateiti alliance increases
the accessibility of Internet and e-services through computer literacy and
Internet training for adults. Through their national 'Computer Literacy
Basics for a Lithuanian E-Citizen' digital literacy project they have trained
over 50,000 people in basic computer, Internet and e-services skills.

Lithuanian private business association Langas i Ateiti/Window to the
Future has been implementing public internet access points and society
training projects since 2002. Microsoft Lietuva is one of the "Window to the
Future" partners and projects sponsors. It supports the Public Information
Access Points (PIAP) project with both training support and the software
needed for PIAP computers. 50,000 people have been trained through
Microsoft's "Unlimited Potential" programme this year. It is a demonstration
of how the right software, skills and content allow new communities to use
technology for economic and social gains. We could not have this kind of
impact on the e-literacy without the strong collaboration with Microsoft.

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