China's homegrown operating system (OS) is expected to release a desktop version in October, according to a senior IT scientist on August 24.

Ni Guangnan of the Chinese Academy of Engineering said that the OS will be first seen on desktop devices and later expanded to smartphones and other mobile devices.

Ni heads an OS development alliance established in March. There are still problems in the program, including a lack of research funds and too many developers pulling in different directions.

"China has more than a dozen mobile OS developers with no independent intellectual property rights because their research is based on Android," said Ni, adding future development should be led by the government.

He said the end of Windows XP and the government ban on the procurement of Windows 8 have opened the door to domestic OS developers.