June 28 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates, seeking to stem the spread of Linux software, will meet with prime ministers in Australia and Malaysia and officials in China to promote its Windows operating system in Asia, the world's fastest-growing personal-computer market.

Gates and Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, both 48, will meet heads of state and clients such as Fujitsu Ltd. Chairman Naoyuki Akikusa. Microsoft last week said in a statement it would woo some Asian customers with simpler versions of its Windows program at a lower price to fight Linux.

The dominance of the Windows operating system, which runs 95 percent of the world's PCs, is coming under greater attack in Asia than any other part of the world, analysts said. Linux for PCs sold three times as many copies in Asia as in the U.S. last year, and China, Japan and South Korea in September issued statements agreeing to develop Linux and other so-called open- source software together as an alternative to Windows.

``In emerging markets such as India and China, where PC growth rates are the highest, Linux momentum seems to be accelerating,'' said Robert Stimson, a Banc of America analyst in San Francisco who has a ``buy'' rating on Microsoft shares. ``Leading government organizations in these countries have resorted to Linux, and it remains to be seen whether the commercial enterprise will follow.''

Software Pricing

Linux is available free over the Internet. Companies such as International Business Machines Corp. and Novell Inc. modify it to suit customers' needs and sell the software and related services, generally at a lower price than Windows. Windows XP Professional retails at $299.99 at CompUSA Inc.'s Web site. The software is cheaper on a per unit basis when bought for many users. A comparable product from Linux provider Red Hat Inc., sells for $99.99.

Shipments of Linux for server computers that run networks grew at an annual pace of 57 percent globally in the first quarter, compared with 16.4 percent growth for Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft's Windows server software, Framingham, Massachusetts-based technology market researcher IDC said in a statement in May.

Linux Growth

Linux accounted for 23 percent of the 5.7 million paid copies of server operating systems sold in 2002, the last year where data is available, according to IDC.

Gates and Ballmer want to keep Linux from getting a foothold in the more than $10 billion market for PC operating systems, where Windows provides 32 percent of Microsoft's sales. In Germany, Munich's government decided this month to switch 14,000 PCs to Linux from Windows, the biggest PC defection to Linux, according to Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon.

PC sales in Asia grew 14 percent in 2003, compared with 12 percent worldwide, according to IDC. Microsoft got almost 11 percent of its $32.2 billion in fiscal 2003 sales from Asia.

PC Linux shipments in the region reached 448,124 copies sold in 2003, compared with 142,131 copies in the U.S., according to Stamford, Connecticut-based researcher Gartner Inc.

Microsoft shares rose 18 cents to $28.57 Friday in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. They have added 4.4 percent this year, compared with an 18 percent gain at Red Hat Inc., the world's biggest Linux distributor.

Linux Threat

Gates meets with Australian Prime Minister John Howard today and Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi tomorrow, and he's also scheduled to visit China. Ballmer meets Fujitsu's Akikusa and government officials in Japan today and tomorrow and also visits South Korea.

``These gentlemen are coming out to speak with governments on behalf of their product and to ensure its longer-term viability when there is a growing challenge,'' said David Satterwhite, executive director of the Fulbright Commission in Japan, an independent analyst of political and economic development.

During Ballmer's November trip to Japan, computer industry groups from that country, South Korea and China urged their governments to use programs such as Linux. The Japan IT Services Association, the China Software Industry Association and the Federation of Korean Information Industries said then they plan to meet near the end of July in Sapporo, Japan after consulting in Beijing in March.

``Industries from the three countries strongly recommend the governments procure open-source software to guarantee and improve the quality'' of the software, the groups said a joint statement in November.

Microsoft will introduce a simplified version of Windows at a lower price in Thailand and Malaysia, Microsoft spokeswoman Alex Mercer said last week. The software may help stem the threat from Linux, said Vivian Tero, who follows the operating systems market for researcher IDC.

Bargaining Power

Mohamad Fauzan Noordin, director of technology at the International Islamic University of Malaysia, last year spurned Windows for an online registration system. He chose Linux and is considering doing the same for the university's personal computers.

``Now we have the power to bargain with Microsoft and other giant companies,'' said Mohamad Fauzan in Kuala Lumpur. The university, with 18,000 students and staff, saved 14 percent by switching to Linux, he said.

Malaysian companies are starting to use Linux after experimenting with the software, said Aimi Aizal Nasharuddin, executive director of Internet consultant Skali.net in Serdang, a town outside of Kuala Lumpur.

Asian Adoption

Other Asian companies and research centers are accelerating adoption of Linux. This year, Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corp., Japan's biggest phone company, NEC Soft Ltd., a Tokyo-based server computer software maker and the state-owned Beijing Software Testing Center are among those joining Open Source Development Labs, a Beaverton, Oregon-based nonprofit consortium encouraging Linux use.

``There are already people who have tested it and are taking it to the next level, which is more serious,'' Skali.net's Aimi said. ``It may not be on a big scale, but they have adopted a certain part of their business processes on Linux.''

Some businesses that started to use Linux on servers still prefer Windows on their PCs, said Charles Cousins, the Singapore- based managing director of the Asian unit of anti-virus maker Sophos Plc. Windows for PCs accounted for $10.3 billion in sales in Microsoft's fiscal year ended in June 2003, while server and tools software contributed $6.5 billion.

``Linux is increasing at the server level,'' Cousins said. ``At the desktop level, people are in wait and see mode.''