Oracle, IBM and NEC will set up a consortium to sell servers and systems running the Linux operating system in Japan.

It would be the first time in the world that major IT firms join hands to market equipment running the free software. The firms, spearheaded by Oracle Japan, aim to launch the operation as early as in June.

More than 10 companies, including major server manufacturers such as Hitachi, Hewlett-Packard and Dell are expected to participate, as well as systems developers such as NTT Data.

The move is in response to a Japanese government procurement guideline that promotes the use of the open-source Linux operating system within the government starting in July.

The central government has set aside 1.25 trillion yen ($10.40 billion) for spending on information systems in the fiscal 2007 budget, and the figure is expected to reach around 2 trillion yen when including local governments.

The government sees that excessive reliance on Microsoft"s Windows operating system will result in less freedom in systems development and other harmful effects because Windows’ source code is not disclosed.

Currently, 78% of the servers in Japan run Microsoft Windows, while 14% run Linux.

Reuters