Gates, the Microsoft founder, said he planned to invest more money in the booming Chinese city.

Both Mayor Xu Kuangdi and Gates declined to say how much the deal was worth. The new company will offer ``support services'' for Microsoft and other software companies.

Xu said the Shanghai government would stop using pirated software and buy authentic copies ``to set an example for all of China.''

Chinese officials allowed journalists to take photographs of Gates and Xu and to watch their signing ceremony.

Gates was in Shanghai to attend a meeting of business leaders alongside the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit involving 21 nations across the region.

(China Daily October 19, 2001)