John Litten, communications manager in Microsoft's reseller division, said the Chinese manufacturers also agreed to help educate end users about the benefits of using licensed software, including the availability of vendor-provided support.

Under its deal, Tsinghua Tongfang has agreed to buy $120 million worth of Windows licenses over three years, according to a statement from Chairman Rong Yong Lin. TCL has agreed to purchase $60 million worth of licenses over the same period, said Yang Wei-qiang, a group vice president at that company.

Microsoft signed a similar deal last November with Lenovo Group Ltd.

-- Ben Ames, Sumner Lemon and Nancy Weil, IDG News Service

Taiwan President blasts Google, Yahoo on China