Microsoft once again came up with the findings of its piracy monitoring research involving retail computer stores in Russian provinces. According to these findings, about a quarter of the 2,500 outlets inspected (all of which are located in fifty-three different cities of Russia) offer unlicensed software for sale in one way or another. 11% of the stores inspected offer their customers pre-installed pirated software.

Microsoft reports that, despite the general decrease in the supply of counterfeits (from 63% of the total market volume in September 2009 down to 30% in November and December 2009) in the stores of Magnitogorsk, Chelyabinsk Region, computer piracy level is still much higher in Ural Federal District than in Russia on average. The corporation claims about 37% of Ural retail outlets offer for sale or recommend pirated software, and 15% of stores suggest installation on the spot. To make matters worse, the number of such stores is on the increase in Tyumen, Kurgan, and Yekaterinburg.