China has banned government use of Microsoft’s latest operating system, Windows 8, after the software giant ended support for the widely-used Windows XP as part of efforts to introduce more secure, less easily pirated versions of Windows.

Microsoft, which will continue to provide Windows 7 to government customers, said it was "surprised" to learn that Windows 8 had been shut out of China's purchase of energy-efficient computers.

Microsoft has had a challenging time in China because of widespread piracy. It reportedly earns less revenue in China than in the Netherlands, even though sales of computers in China were as high as in the US.

The state news agency Xinhua said part of the reason for the exclusion order was concern over internet safety, and it said China must be careful after reports of US spying.

Last week the US indicted five Chinese military officials for allegedly hacking into the computer networks of American companies to steal trade secrets. The Chinese defence ministry accused the US of hypocrisy, citing the Edward Snowden case as an example of US double standards. Notice Microsoft said it learned of the decision in a notice from the China Central Government Procurement Centre.

“Microsoft has been working proactively with the Central Government Procurement Centre and other government agencies through the evaluation process to ensure that our products and services meet all government procurement requirements,” the company said in a statement.

Windows XP is used on more than 50 per cent of Chinese desktop computers, and it is widely pirated in China.

As part of its efforts to encourage more use of secure, newer versions of Windows, Microsoft ended support for the 13-year-old Windows XP last month.

This has potentially left XP users vulnerable to viruses and hacking.