Pulling a controversial image featuring an Asian man and a white woman - wherein Microsoft reportedly used 'photo editing' tools to change the race of a person -, Microsoft has extended an apology for the evident blunder! The photo was part of a marketing pitch for Microsoft's business productivity software.

Though the picture, depicting three employees sitting around a desk, remained unaltered on the Microsoft US website; the same picture on the website of its Polish business unit showed the black man's head replaced with a white face, even when the color of his hands was unaltered.

While Microsoft planned to investigate who made the contentious 'race-swap', bloggers seemingly went berserk with the story, and the altered image was circulated online at so-called lightning speed!

Some bloggers went to the extent of suggesting that the picture was apparently part of Microsoft's 'singular endeavor' to gratify all markets - what with a man having a white face and a black hand!

One blogger on the Photoshop Disasters blog remarked: "The white head and black hand actually symbolise interracial harmony. It is supposed to show that a person can be white and black, old and young at the same time!" There were others who suggested that the ethnic mix of the Polish population could likely have had a hand in the decision to alter the picture!