A new PC operating system that will run both Linux and Windows applications was announced as the launch hype of Microsoft's XP was reaching a crescendo.

The Linux-based LindowsOS comes from a startup called Lindows.com, founded by MP3.com chief executive Michael Robertson. It is based on the Wine (Windows Emulator) project, which stuck a Windows program interface onto a Unix core.

Lindows is said to add proprietary software with enhancements such as a simplified interface which makes installation a straightforward, four-step process that can be handled by anyone from a beginner to a systems engineer. LindowsOS will run on more than one system without serial code registrations.

It will run "many popular Windows programs", according to a Lindows.com statement, which presumably means that some will not run.

But users can find out for themselves soon as a preview version will be available from Lindows.com in a few weeks and the full version should be ready early in 2002.

It needs a Pentium or AMD processor, 64Mb of Ram and 1Gb of free hard disk space. Robertson said that the aim of the new operating system is to give users a choice.

"For too long there's been little competition in the operating system arena and consumers have paid the price with buggy and expensive software," he explained. "LindowsOS ... gives computer owners a migration path to a new operating system which promises to be full featured and consumer friendly."

Linux has being making slow progress as a mainstream desktop operating system despite its success in niche applications. Dell has stopped offering it on PCs citing a lack of demand.