Red Hat has signed a deal with RealNetworks that will see the Linux firm bundle the open source Helix Player with its desktop products.

Under the terms of the agreement Red Hat will also offer a free upgrade to RealPlayer 10 for Linux to its customers on their initial installation of the Red Hat Desktop when the player is available later this summer.

In addition, Red Hat has promised to contribute resources to help qualify the Helix Player on its platform this summer.

Helix Player, an open source media player developed within the Helix Community, contains open source components, including the underlying Helix DNA Client, as well as the Ogg Vorbis and Theora codecs.

It will form the foundation of the forthcoming RealPlayer 10 for Linux, which includes both open source and commercial components such as SMIL, MP3, Flash and RealAudio and RealVideo media formats, the companies said.

Martin Plaehn, executive vice president for products and services at RealNetworks, said in a statement: "We expect to see continued innovation and growth in the Linux desktop market worldwide.

"Providing desktop standardisation for digital media via the Helix Player to consumers, businesses and developers as a software application and media enabling framework expands the capabilities of the Linux desktop and provides the market with new capabilities and more choices."

RealNetworks has also announced its intention to add the GNU General Public Licence to the Helix Player "within 30 days".

Beta versions of RealPlayer 10 for Linux and Helix Player are available for free download here.

www.helixcommunity.org