Certiport today named Fung Yin Sang, 20, and Fu Shing Kong, 18, from Hong Kong this year’s World Champions in Word 2003 and Excel® 2003 for culmination of the most prolific competition on Microsoft® Office to date. In its eighth year, the 2009 Worldwide Competition on Microsoft Office boasts more than 80,000 student competitors hailing from 53 countries who participated in rounds of local, country and regional competitions—capped by the Championship Round in Toronto, Canada.

“Right now I feel very excited,” said Word winner Fung Yin Sang. Notwithstanding his victory, he said he still has more to learn on the Microsoft Office suite of applications. He plans to learn even more about them.

“Actually this was unexpected,” said Excel winner Fu Shing Kong. “I didn’t think I could beat so many strong candidates.”

• Go to the Certiport channel at www.youtube.com/user/certiportcomms to view video footage from the Gala award ceremony and interview with the World Champions.
• Print-quality photos of this year’s winners along with images from Gala can be previewed and downloaded at: www.flickr.com/photos/certiport/sets/.

Certiport recognized both students in ceremonies at the Certiport PATHWAYS™ 2009 conference in Toronto where 55 country winners competed in the Championship Round for a grand-prize scholarship fund of $6,500 USD.

The Worldwide Competition on Microsoft Office has grown steadily since its inauguration in 2002 as a regional event in Asia. All told, more than 250,000 students from all over the world have competed for the coveted title of “World Champ” in its eight-year history. Participants for the Championship Round of the Competition are chosen based on exam scores and completion times. Students who outperformed their peers to make the final round of the Competition generally had perfect or near-perfect exam scores and completion times well below the allotted examination time. For more information about the Competition, visit www.officecompetition.com.