Microsoft Corp’s chief executive, appearing at the Asian Government Leaders’ Forum in Singapore, said Linux violates more than 228 patents.

Someday… somebody will come and look for money owing to the rights for that intellectual property, Ballmer said in response to questioning.

Ballmer did not provide details on the alleged violations, but Microsoft subsequently informed press Ballmer was citing an open source risk management (OSRM) report from August, which actually identified 287 patents in the Linux kernel.

Of these, OSRM identified 27 Microsoft patents that could cover technologies in the kernel. OSRM, at the time of the report, did not actually say whether Linux violated any patents, adding none of the patents have been tested in court.

Asia, and government, are two particularly sensitive areas for Microsoft right now. China, Japan and South Korea are among those pursuing either commercial or nationally sponsored Linux alternatives while national and local governments worldwide attempt to reduce their reliance on the US-based Microsoft, cut software costs and close the gaps in their security by using Linux.

Ballmer’s speech at the forum represents the latest chapter in Microsoft’s apparently new strategy of making an issue of intellectual property (IP) contained in Linux and other open source software, in order to unsettle customers and make then pick Windows instead.

The campaign is clearly being spearheaded by Ballmer, who recently opened hostilities through one of his regular open letters to employees, partners, customers and the world. Unlike previous e-mails, which called on Redmond employees to out-innovate Linux, Ballmer’s recent message hit the theme of IP, claiming no vendor stood behind Linux with full IP indemnification.

Last week, Microsoft expanded its indemnification for retail customers against IP claims, covering older versions of Windows, Office and SQL Server. Previously, Microsoft has only covered customers using its volume licensing programs.

At the time, Ballmer was quoted as saying: We can stand behind our products in a way that open source can’t because they have no one standing behind them.

Critics will see Ballmer’s comments as yet another attempt to discredit Linux, using the tactics of Fear, Uncertainty and Doubt (FUD), in the face of Linux’s risking competitive threat to Windows. Early attempts to discredit Linux were relatively crude, with chief software architect Bill Gates and others attacking the GPL as a Pac-Man like threat to closed-source software.