Someone Tell Bill Gates That’s Not Kosher

U.S. software giant Microsoft Corp. has withdrawn a batch of CD-ROMS and launched an investigation after a complaint that its Arabic-language Microsoft Office software arrived in the United Arab Emirates labeled in Hebrew.

The English-language daily Khaleej Times reported Thursday that a customer sounded the alarm by faxing an imprint of the Hebrew label to the company’s Middle East headquarters in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

“Microsoft is taking it very, very seriously,” a spokesman for the company said Thursday, but added that the company has only received one complaint.

“If it had arrived in the U.K. labeled in French, it wouldn’t have been a big deal,” he said.

The spokesman said the CDs were labeled by an unspecified third-party contractor in Redmond, Wash., where Microsoft is based.

“We regret any inconvenience caused to end-users,” said Asem Galal, product manger for Windows and desktop applications, in the statement. The company is offering replacements through its retailers.