BEIJING (Reuters) - Software behemoth Microsoft Corp MSFT.O , in its latest effort to bolster its presence in China market where it has struggled at times, will announce a series of education-related deals on Thursday, a spokeswoman said.

"There will be an announcement tomorrow where Microsoft will be making a significant investment in computer education in China," a Microsoft spokeswoman in Hong Kong said on Wednesday.

Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer is scheduled to announce the agreements with the Ministry of Education and five Chinese universities on boosting software education in China, according to state media.

Citing an unnamed source, the official China Daily's Business Weekly said Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft "will pool hundreds of millions of yuan" into an effort with the ministry and universities called the "Great Wall Plan."

"Microsoft's investment strategy is undergoing a major change," Tang Jun, the company's China president, was quoted as saying in the newspaper. "We are extending our investment channels to fulfil our long-term commitment to China."

Microsoft, the world's dominant seller of software, has been frustrated in the past by rampant piracy and occasional image difficulties in China.

Last year, the firm responded to popular fears that its flagship Windows product was not fully secure by joining with a state software maker to add an extra encryption "lock."

This year, Microsoft has made its first two joint venture investments with Chinese software firms.

The company has raised the ire of some in China occasionally with its aggressive anti-piracy efforts and its policy of charging the same prices for software no matter how rich or poor the market.

In December, Microsoft was snubbed in a software procurement by the city of Beijing.

The company has said its China relations have improved from a low point in the 1990s.

Recently, Microsoft reached a deal with Chinese mobile phone maker TCL Mobile to include its software in TCL cellphones and handheld computers.