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LOS ANGELES: Software giant Microsoft Corp is apologising for altering a photo on its website to change the race of one of the people shown in the picture.

A photo on the Seattle-based company's US website shows two men, one Asian and one black, and a white woman seated at a conference room table.

But on the website of Microsoft's Polish business unit, the black man's head has been replaced with that of a white man. The colour of his hand remains unchanged.

The photo editing sparked criticism online. Some bloggers said Poland's ethnic homogeneity may have played a role in changing the photo.

“We are looking into the details of this situation,” Microsoft spokesperson Lou Gellos said in a statement. “We apologise and are in the process of pulling down the image.”