Moscow-based software distributor Vest has announced that it has sold the Central Bank of Russia more than 4,000 licenses for Symantec Corp products. The bank is buying Norton Commander 5.0, Norton Utilities 8.0 for MS-DOS and Windows and Norton Utilities for Windows95. Localized versions of Norton Commander 5.0, Norton Utilities 8.0 for MS-DOS and Windows and Norton Utilities for Windows95 accounted for 80% of the purchased products. The transaction represents the largest single licensing agreement signed by Symantec anywhere in the former Soviet Union. The Central Bank of Russia pursues the policy of using licensed software, says Leonid Eletskij, deputy director of the Informatization Department of the Central Bank of Russia. Symantec regards this agreement as very important, commented Christof Levandonskij, sales manager for Symantec in Eastern Europe. Up until now, 99% of the Norton Commander and the Norton Utilities packages used in Russia were used illegally.
