IBM opts for a Brazilian

IBM is teaming up with the government of Brazil to develop the country's expertise in open source software such as Linux, the technology giant announced Friday.

Big Blue signed a letter of intent with the South American country, stating a shared vision of developing technology that's based on open source software and open standards, according to a statement released by IBM.

Rogerio Oliveira, president of IBM Brazil, said in a statement: "Linux can play a fundamental role in the economic development strategy of developing countries such as Brazil. In Brazil, the community of open source developers is growing, and we are very open to discussions with the government on how IBM can contribute."

IBM's deal with Brazil is the third major international Linux announcement for the technology giant this week. The company on Wednesday touted deals with the United Kingdom and Russia. Other countries are looking into Linux as well. Japan, Korea and China have formed a group to develop open source software as a replacement for Windows in certain applications.

Both Linux and Windows are growing forces in the server market, according to industry researcher IDC. The firm recently estimated that Microsoft Windows grew to account for 55 per cent of the server operating system market, while Linux jumped to 23 per cent of the market in 2002.

IBM didn't offer any further details of the deal with Brazil.

Robert Lemos writes for CNET News.com