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ADDIS ABABA (AFP) – US software giant Microsoft has launched Windows Vista in Amharic, the first operating system in the national language of Ethiopia, the official news agency said Saturday.

"Launching the Amharic version software is a major step forward for Amharic to be a language of technology," Director of the Ethiopian ICT Development Agency, Debretsion Gebremichael was quoted as saying by the Ethiopian News Agency (ENA).

He said 40 scholars from the Addis Ababa University had taken part in the translation of the software and added that plans were being drafted for translation into some of the nation's other languages.

"Ethiopia as a country of over 80 million people, has its own language and alphabet, and it is Microsoft?s desire to let this huge country use its Amharic service pack," ENA quoted Microsoft's Africa boss Cheick Modibo Diarra as saying.