<s>
Microsoft	B-Operating_System
Venus	I-Operating_System
was	O
an	O
aborted	O
venture	O
by	O
Microsoft	O
into	O
the	O
low-end	O
personal	B-Device
computing	I-Device
market	O
in	O
the	O
People	O
's	O
Republic	O
of	O
China	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
product	O
,	O
a	O
set-top	O
operating	B-General_Concept
system	I-General_Concept
designed	O
to	O
work	O
with	O
low-end	O
televisions	O
(	O
somewhat	O
similar	O
to	O
MSN	B-Device
TV	I-Device
in	O
the	O
United	O
States	O
)	O
,	O
was	O
announced	O
by	O
then-Microsoft	O
chairman	O
Bill	O
Gates	O
on	O
March	O
10	O
,	O
1999	O
in	O
Shenzhen	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
to	O
be	O
made	O
available	O
by	O
January	O
2000	O
;	O
it	O
never	O
made	O
it	O
out	O
of	O
Microsoft	O
's	O
lab	O
however	O
,	O
slowly	O
dying	O
less	O
than	O
a	O
year	O
after	O
its	O
announcement	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Relatively	O
little	O
is	O
known	O
about	O
Microsoft	B-Operating_System
Venus	I-Operating_System
,	O
since	O
the	O
project	O
never	O
made	O
it	O
beyond	O
the	O
prototype	O
stage	O
,	O
and	O
was	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
exclusive	O
to	O
the	O
People	O
's	O
Republic	O
of	O
China	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
What	O
is	O
known	O
of	O
the	O
project	O
appears	O
to	O
show	O
that	O
Microsoft	O
designed	O
Venus	O
in	O
response	O
to	O
a	O
largely	O
untapped	O
Chinese	O
computing	O
market	O
;	O
with	O
their	O
low-end	O
set-top	O
box	O
,	O
designed	O
to	O
be	O
a	O
combination	O
of	O
Internet	O
accessibility	O
and	O
the	O
basic	O
features	O
of	O
a	O
personal	B-Device
computer	I-Device
(	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
rudimentary	O
word	O
processor	O
)	O
,	O
they	O
hoped	O
to	O
tap	O
into	O
this	O
market	O
,	O
gaining	O
market	O
share	O
and	O
profit	O
in	O
the	O
world	O
's	O
fastest-growing	O
economy	O
in	O
the	O
process	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
tension	O
reached	O
a	O
fever	O
pitch	O
in	O
January	O
2000	O
,	O
when	O
the	O
Chinese	O
government	O
ordered	O
Windows	B-Application
2000	I-Application
uninstalled	O
from	O
all	O
ministerial	O
computers	O
,	O
opting	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
locally	O
produced	O
Red	O
Flag	O
Linux	O
instead	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
January	O
2000	O
passed	O
without	O
a	O
Venus	O
release	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
product	O
remained	O
"	O
vaporware	B-Application
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
Lenovo	O
's	O
computers	O
are	O
full-fledged	O
PCs	B-Device
,	O
and	O
do	O
not	O
bear	O
a	O
strong	O
resemblance	O
to	O
the	O
all-in-one	O
television	O
component	O
that	O
Microsoft	O
envisioned	O
becoming	O
a	O
large	O
success	O
in	O
China	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
According	O
to	O
Reuters	O
 '	O
account	O
of	O
the	O
initial	O
unveiling	O
of	O
the	O
Venus	O
prototype	O
,	O
the	O
box	O
was	O
intended	O
to	O
combine	O
an	O
Internet	B-Application
browser	I-Application
,	O
rudimentary	O
word	B-General_Concept
processing	I-General_Concept
and	O
graphic	B-Application
design	I-Application
suite	I-Application
,	O
and	O
CD	B-Device
player	I-Device
into	O
one	O
set-top	O
television	O
component	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Microsoft	O
reportedly	O
intended	O
for	O
the	O
Venus	O
boxes	O
to	O
run	O
on	O
a	O
special	O
version	O
of	O
Windows	B-Operating_System
CE	I-Operating_System
,	O
fine-tuned	O
for	O
display	O
on	O
television	O
sets	O
.	O
</s>
