Microsoft Censor 2.0

It's well-known that the Chinese government censors web sites, e-mail, and other internet communications, but this was news to me:

Users of the MSN Spaces section of Microsoft Corp.'s new China-based Web portal get a scolding message each time they input words deemed taboo by the communist authorities -- such as democracy, freedom and human rights.

...a spokesman at [Microsoft] headquarters in Seattle acknowledged that the company is cooperating with the Chinese government to censor its Chinese-language Web portal.

Microsoft and its Chinese business partner, government-funded Shanghai Alliance Investment, work with authorities to omit certain forbidden language, said Adam Sohn, a global sales and marketing director for MSN.

One more reason to get a new web browser...and office software...and operating system...