Chinese software provider Kingsoft has announced that its office software product WPS Office has gained new purchase orders from Chinese state-owned enterprises, including China Southern Power Grid, Angang Steel, Baosteel Group, China Southern, China National Textiles, and China XD Group.

This is Kingsoft's second large order gained from state-owned enterprises since it started providing WPS Office to Chinese companies such as Sinosteel Corporation in December 2009. The company did not reveal the financial details of the order.

Kingsoft said that so far, its WPS Office product has been applied in over 50 Chinese central ministries as well as government units and enterprises in more than 300 provinces and cities.

Ge Ke, senior vice president of Kingsoft, told local media that with state-owned enterprises' purchase and wide application of Kingsoft's WPS Office, the use of authorized office software in China will be enhanced. Statistics provided by Kingsoft show that by the beginning of June 2010, Kingsoft's free individual version of WPS Office had been downloaded over 50 million times. In addition, the network coordination office product for WPS Office is undergoing tests and Kingsoft's new Apple iPad-based mobile office software will soon start public beta tests.

China's Kingsoft has been trying to challenge the leading position of Microsoft in the office software sector. Prior to this, Microsoft's new Office 2010 product was launched in China on June 18, 2010. This new product is available in the Chinese market at the retail price of CNY398 for the family edition, which can be installed on three computers.