A new generation of software in the Tibetan language has been developed in the autonomous region of southwest China.

The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology earmarked 33 million yuan for development of the proprietary software for language input, an operating system, an office package and a Web browser.

Wide use of Tibetan software is expected to help reduce the "digital gap" between Tibet and other parts of the country and facilitate exchanges with the world, said Chari Losangtenzin, vice-chairman of the region.

The authorities have distributed the computer software and offered training to popularize its use.

The ministry said they will use their experience developing Tibetan programs to design software for other languages like the Uygur, Kazak, Kirgiz and Mongolian.

(Source: China Daily)