Whether you adore him for his outstanding talent or hate him for his cruelty to competitors, Gates cannot be ignored.

He had long been the focus of the media before he stepped onto the platform of the APEC CEO Summit 2001 in Shanghai.

Even the least sophisticated photographic equipment was trying to capture every movement of the global software wizard.

Many of the photos of this chief of a software colossus showed him with a heartfelt smile: he must be feeling great now that the anti-trust case has been wound up.

Gates has returned to the top of the list of the world's richest men, and his new WindowsXP is launching on the global market, including China.

A childlike smile often floats at his mouth when such a tremendous market with infinite potential is dangled before him.

Gates said it was not just China's market potential that interested him - he was also fascinated by its beautiful landscape and profound history.

"This is the seventh time I've been to China," he said. "I've visited Urumqi, the Dunhuang Grottos, Xi'an, Chengdu, Guilin. The ancient monuments and Buddhist caves are amazing."

He said that during his trips across China, few people knew who he was.

"They seldom bothered me. A few young people came to me and practised English with me," he said with a Cheshire cat smile.

His lack of pretensions is one of the reasons he wins over the masses, according to countless media.

However, the media have also criticized him for being cold-blooded towards other software companies.

Gates seems unbothered by the criticism, saying: "Before Microsoft came along, only a few companies were selling very expensive software. The idea of low-cost software that empowers individuals and that can literally go around the world and help thousands of companies to succeed is Microsoft's dream. The software now is ten thousands times bigger than ever because of what we do."

Gates said the hostility came mainly from hardware companies that used to charge high prices.

Concerning the objections of the founder of Linux, who is a strong advocate of free software, Gates said he had no plans to try to win him over, even if one day they found themselves sitting next to each other on a plane.

"We never convince our competitors," he said. "The people we try to persuade are our customers, by offering them better products."

After reading accounts of Gates, many ordinary people are curious about how he sees himself.

"Actually I've been very lucky," he said. "I had a chance to participate in creating the company. The company started from almost nothing - its ideas were very revolutionary."

He said that at the beginning, few people thought he would succeed or that the company would have a worldwide impact on the PC market.

Gates said the firm's success has endowed him with the chance to do other work such as creating a fund to tackle world health issues, including helping poor countries fight disease.

In the meantime, he is proud of being a father of a daughter and a son.

"In many respects, I feel I'm privileged, so I'm doing my best to give something back to society," he said.

If he were granted another chance to choose his career, he said he would still choose software.

But he did not recommend that young Chinese people follow his example and quit college, when asked by an admiring Chinese boy who wrote a letter about his plans to quit college.

"The reason I left college was that I had a unique chance - and it was extremely good - to develop personal computing, and there were few PCs at that moment," he said.

"Unless you've got a major breakthrough that cannot wait, you'd be better off finishing college," Gates said.

A majority of people believe Gates is a person who has changed the world; however, he is also changing his own business strategies.

He is now placing his focus on Shanghai, saying: "The Shanghai Global Technical Support Centre will establish China as a growing leader in the customer service industry and is a further illustration of our commitment to China."

In Gates' view, the motive of the new strategies applied to the China market is that Microsoft sees huge market potential here and "incredible" human resources for software if developed properly.

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