In a disclosure that is similar to a 'transparency report' which Google started publishing in 2010, software giant Microsoft revealed on Thursday that, in 2012, the company received over 75,000 requests from government law reinforcement agencies for divulging details about hundreds of millions of its customers all across the world.

In its recently-released report about government requests for data, Microsoft revealed that 69 percent of the requests which it received last year from law enforcement agencies came from five countries - the US, the UK, Germany, France, and Turkey.

The report - which Microsoft intends updating every six months - also disclosed that `customer content' was released by Microsoft in only 2.1 percent of the cases, which comprised over 1,550 requests.

However, in 79.8 percent of the requests received by the company - excluding its 2011-acquired Skype subsidiary -, 'non content' information - including subscriber details like name, email address, location and IP address - was released.

Noting that the report shows that data requests affected `less than 0.02 per cent of active users,' and describing the release of the report as a move by Microsoft to "build further on the industry's commitment to transparency," Microsoft general counsel Brad Smith said: "In recent months, there has been broadening public interest in how often law enforcement agencies request customer data from technology companies and how our industry responds to these requests."