Vietnam's Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications inked with Microsoft a partnership to use licensed copies of Microsoft Office at government agencies, local newspaper Vietnam News reported Tuesday.

Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer met with Vietnamese Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung in a one-day visit, during which both witnessed the signing of the agreement on Monday.

Under the deal, the two sides will also cooperate in four major areas to develop the local Information and Communication Technology (ICT) industry: software and hardware to improve productivity, e-government infrastructure and technical skills, narrowing the digital gap, and supporting local software entrepreneurs.

Microsoft views the deal as a major commitment by the Vietnamese government to protect intellectual property rights, sees Asia as a major engine of innovation, and foresees an opportunity for Vietnam to emerge as a global intellectual property advocate and leading software developer, the newspaper said.

"With 60 percent of our 84 million citizens under 30, a 96-percent literacy rate and an economy that is already the second-fastest growing in Asia, Vietnam is well positioned to join countries which have experienced the miracle of ICT," said Vietnamese Deputy Minister of Posts and Telecommunications Vu Duc Dam.

Vietnam has targeted that its ICT industry will obtain annual growth of 10 percent by 2010. The country is boosting the process of equalizing state-owned enterprises operating in the industry to mobilize more capital for development, which will help it reach a turnover of 10 billion U.S. dollars in 2010.