Tang Jun, the president of Microsoft China Co Ltd from 2002 to 2004, apologized officially to the public for lying about his educational background on June 19.

Tang admitted buying an academic degree at the beginning of a lecture he gave at The Lake View Hotel near Peking University and then emphasized the importance of correcting mistakes.

"No matter what mistakes you have made, you are still good if you correct them immediately," Tang was quoted by Xiaoxiang Morning Post as saying.

He made the apology publicly for lying his educational background and told the audience not to act like he did.

Tang received public criticism in July 2010 for the lie. He was accused of forging his doctoral degree in computer science from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech).

Tang then asserted he only carried out research at Caltech and earned his doctoral degree from Pacific Western University. The university was exposed as a diploma mill by US authorities in 2004 and concern was raised by netizens. Tang then admitted he paid $3,000 for the "degree".

Tang was also criticized for fabricating work experience. His two claimed patents — "Karaoke Scoring Machine" and "Photo Sticker Camera" were also found to be fake by netizens.