whoisgregg - 5:44 pm on Feb 1, 2007 (gmt 0)

Come on ... for downloads.?.?.?

Do they employee UK citizens?
Do they own/lease property in the UK?
Do they pay for advertising in UK newspapers, magazines, radio and television?

I'm not defending Microsoft, just the idea that businesses can have legitimate reasons for variable pricing, especially when operating in multiple countries.

why when challenged, don't they use this in their defence?

I think it's silly for a company to spend time explaining which of the myriad reasons for variable pricing are in effect in any particular circumstance.

Maybe this is a good excuse for the UK to switch to Mac? :) The full version of Mac OS X version 10.4 "Tiger" has closer pricing. US: $129.00 [store.apple.com] UK: £89.00 [store.apple.com]