Chinese Companies Vie for a Role in U.S. IT Outsourcing.

Focuses on Chinese business enterprises and their desire to compete for information technology outsourcing from the United States. Example of a partnership between Microsoft Corp. and Shanghai Wicresoft Co.; Speculation about the competition between India and China in the area of software development and back-office operations for American companies; Obstacles the Chinese will have to overcome in order to attract American outsourcing, noting poor English skills and a fragmented industrial structure; Efforts of Wicresoft's English-speaking employees to teach Chinese co-workers about e-mail and communications protocol; Percentage of Wicresoft's personnel costs in the online-service department attributable to the English-speaking e-mail polishers.