The Japanese government will consider replacing Microsoft Corp's Windows, used in much of its computer networks, with another operating system to bolster security, a newspaper said on Saturday.

The safety of computer networks is under scrutiny as Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's administration presses on towards a long-held goal of "e-government", which would allow citizens to deal with government agencies via the Internet.

Windows now serves at the operating system for the bulk of servers and personal computers that are used for the Japanese government's computer networks, the Asahi Shimbun said.

But the government is interested in studying the possibility of adopting alternative operating systems, particularly open source programs such as Linux, the newspaper said.

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