Dell offers personal computers loaded with Ubuntu Linux

Dell is to offer consumers computers that come preloaded with the open source Linux operating system (Ubuntu).

Dell has long offered business Linux-based computers. But the announcement marks the first time that a major computer manufacturer has offered the technology on laptops and desktops designed for consumer use.

The computers will use a version of Linux called Ubuntu and will be available by the end of the month.

With companies like Google offering web-based applications that compete with Microsoft's most popular programmes, the move by Dell offers consumers an unprecedented opportunity to run a full-featured laptop without using any products from the world's largest software maker.

Microsoft's Windows operating system runs over 90 per cent of the world's personal computers.