Oct. 8--JACKSON -- Mississippians who bought Microsoft products have until Oct. 16 to claim vouchers that can be used to buy other computer hardware and software.

The vouchers available to Mississippians are part of the $100 million lawsuit settlement Attorney General Jim Hood reached with Microsoft In June.

As a result of the settlement, Mississippi received $40 million that was used to help resolve the budget impasse that almost shut down state government.

The rest of the settlement funds are supposed to be divided between local governments and individuals who bought Microsoft products such as Windows 95, Windows 98, Windows ME and Office.

The vouchers can be obtained by going to the attorney general's Web site at www.agjimhood.com. For governments, businesses or individuals making more than five claims, proof of purchases will have to be presented.

But for fewer than five claims, a person will have to submit only a sworn declaration that is part of the downloaded material at the attorney general's Web site.

The claims must be postmarked by Oct. 16.

Vouchers for up to $12 will be available for people, business and governments that bought computers since 1995 that had Microsoft software, such as Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows ME.

Vouchers of $5 will be available for those who bought software such as Windows 2000, MS-DOS, Office, Word and Excel. The vouchers can be used to buy other computer products.

"We want Mississippians to take a moment and see whether or not they qualify and, if so, take advantage of this opportunity," Hood said in a news release. "I would like to see every bit of that $60 million go back in our consumers' pocketbooks."

But if consumers don't claim all of that $60 million, the state can recoup a portion of it.

The lawsuit is an offshoot of the federal lawsuit from the 1990s when Microsoft was accused of violating antitrust laws by packaging its software in a way that prevented it from being compatible with the software of its competitors.

Many of the 21 states that settled received primarily vouchers. Mississippi received the largest cash settlement.

Hood said his case was bolstered by Mississippi resident Jim Barksdale, who as founder of Netscape, a Microsoft competitor, was affected by Microsoft's business practices. When Hood first filed the lawsuit, he said, he received a call from Barksdale telling him that Mississippi should demand a cash settlement.

Hood said Barksdale would have been a witness if the case had gone to court.

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