SOFTWARE GIANT Microsoft has apologised for altering a photograph on its website that changed the race of one of the people shown in the image.

A photograph on the company’s US site shows two men, one Asian and one black, and a white woman seated at a conference room table. But on the website of Microsoft’s Polish business unit, the black man’s head has been replaced with that of a white man. The colour of his hand remains unchanged.

The photo editing brought criticism online. Some bloggers said Poland’s ethnic homogeneity may have played a role in changing the photo. A Microsoft spokesman said: “We apologise and are in the process of pulling down the image.” – (AP)