China is facing a double dilemma with Microsoft's scheduled phaseout of technical support for its Windows XP operating system.

One, Beijing says the phaseout, set on April 8, could hurt the government's anti-piracy campaign.

Two, experts warn of "security risks" when Chinese computer users upgrade to the newer American-made Windows operating system.

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January statistics show that 49 per cent of computers in China are still running on the 12-year-old Windows XP operating system.

Many computer users have been reluctant to upgrade to the newer Windows 8 operating system because of its high retail price, turning instead to pirated versions of the software.

Windows 8 sells at 988 renminbi (US$160) for the basic version and 1,988 renminbi (US$325) for the professional version.

The Chinese government has been on a decade-long campaign to snuff out software piracy, mandating that all new computer machines be pre-installed with licensed software prior to sale, and ensuring that all government computers are running on licensed operating systems.

But Microsoft's pullout of technical support and security patch provisions for the old XP system may push consumers to turn to piracy again, Beijing argued.

On the security concern, a computer scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences warned of possibilities that US government agencies may use security flaws in American-made software to undertake surveillance activities.

"Windows 8 would leave users open to security threats. I urge Chinese government agencies and important industries not to adopt it because of the risk of American intrusion," said Ni Guangnan.

Microsoft, however, normally allows countries to examine the source code of its software products.

After Microsoft formally ends its support for Windows XP on April 8, local technology companies Tencent, Kingsoft and Sogou will pick up the slack, providing technical assistance to XP users for the next two to three years.