REDMOND, Wash., April 24, 2006 - For those outside the software industry, it can be difficult to appreciate the scope and impact of one of the industry's biggest problems, counterfeit software. The Business Software Alliance has estimated that 35 percent of all PC software used worldwide is counterfeit or otherwise illegal, and the recent IDC Economic Impact Study asserts that if the piracy rate was lowered by 10 percentage points over the next four years, this would contribute 2.4 million new jobs and US$400 billion in economic growth to the global economy.