When Bill Gates became interested in computer, he was ______ years old.

In the past few years, hundreds of magazine and newspaper stories have been written about Bill Gates and his company, the reason the Microsoft Company is extremely successful. It has made Bill Gates one of the richest men in the world. Bill Gates was born in 1955, in a western city of Seattle, Washington. He became interested in computers when he was 13 years old. When most young boys at his age were playing baseball or football, young Bill Gates was learning to write computer programs. These programs tell computers how to perform useful tasks. Bill Gates attended Harvard University after high school. At Harvard, he began developing the computer language called Basic. He began to think that the computer would someday become a valuable tool that could be used in every office and home. Bill Gates returned to Seattle where he established the Microsoft Company in 1975. It employed only three workers. Microsoft developed computer software for established American companies, like General Electric and Citybank. Soon Microsoft was working with the International Business Machines Company known as IBM. In 1981, IBM began selling a personal computer that used Microsoft products as part of its operating system. By then, Microsoft had 129 workers. Today IBM still uses Microsoft’s computer operating system. So do many other computer companies. One of the most famous Microsoft products is a program called Windows. Windows makes it much easier to use a computer. Company officials say Microsoft has sold about 40,000,000 copies of the Windows program around the world. Microsoft does thousands of millions of dollars in business each year. It now has more than 16,000 workers in more than 48 countries. Microsoft today produces computer programs in 30 languages and sells them in more than 100 countries.