Chairman of Microsoft Bill Gates praised Tuesday night in Hong Kong the processing of Beijing 2008 Olympics, saying "it was a fun time and the management of the Games was fantastic."

Gates made the remarks when attending Microsoft Research Asia's 10th anniversary innovation forum held in Hong Kong Conference and Convention Center.

"It was a wonderful week," Gates told about 2,000 guests from academic, scientific and educational circles attending the celebration, referring to his first trip to China after he quit the Microsoft Cooperation's management and focused on Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

Gate said he would spend some time in Hong Kong to watch the Olympic equestrian events. Then he would go back to Beijing to watch more events there.

In his keynote speech titled "Innovation for the Next 10 Years, " Gates said interactive science would lead the development of science and technology in the next decade.

"Researchers in academia play an essential role in expanding the boundaries of scientific knowledge and driving progress," Gates said, adding "for the last 10 years, great collaborative work between Microsoft Research Asia and the region's world-leading academic researchers has resulted in a wide range of exciting technology innovations."

"As Asia becomes more and more of a global center for innovation, I have no doubt that Microsoft Research Asia and its academic partners will have an even bigger impact on the world of technology," he said.

At the forum, Gates was joined by other visionary technologists from Microsoft Research Asia, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology and the University of Hong Kong.

Over the past ten years, Microsoft Research Asia has partnered with more than 100 Asian universities and research institutions in markets such as Australia, China, Japan, Korea and Singapore.

(Xinhua News Agency August 13, 2008)