Microsoft, which agreed to settle its separate 3-year-old case with the Justice Department earlier this month, is hatching an agreement with class action attorneys that would require the company to provide free software and computers to more than 14,000 of the poorest U.S. schools over five years.

However, the deal also has some upside for Microsoft: It would provide a big public relations boost for Microsoft and help promote the company's software in public schools, sources said.

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