PR far from black and white for Microsoft

I was amused to read that Microsoft has done its bit for Polish race relations by (not-so) subtly changing the skin colour of someone appearing in a promotional photo.

The image originally appeared on the company's US website and shows three smiley employees sitting in a meeting room. The middle of the trio is a kindly-looking, middle-aged black man.

For reasons best known to themselves, decision makers at the software giant saw fit to replace the poor chap's head when the photo appeared on the site of Microsoft's Polish arm. For the benefit of our friends in Warsaw, the man's head was replaced by the slightly pained expression of a younger white man - though the original man's hand is still clearly visible.

Microsoft quickly apologised and removed the image, promising to investigate how such a PR gaffe could have come to pass. But thankfully numerous blogs and news sites, (including the BBC), have preserved the blunder for posterity.

The image is accompanied by the inspiring slogan: "Empower your people with the IT tools they need." Like Photoshop, presumably.