"We are trying step by step to eliminate Microsoft," said Nguyen Trung Quynh of Vietnam's Ministry of Science and Technology. Quynh and other government tech officials want Vietnam to be on the cutting edge of a movement to embrace open-source software -- products that can be downloaded from the Internet for free and perform the same tasks as Microsoft Windows or Office.

The initiative is Vietnam's solution to software piracy, a rampant problem that threatens to derail the country's economic aspirations.

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Microsoft Windows and Office cost at least $140 in Vietnam, way out of reach for most people, where the per capita annual income is about $420. Meanwhile, a pirated copy of Windows and Office goes for no more than $10.