Wal-Mart is dropping the $199 Everex Linux Green gPC from its stores, despite selling out in under two weeks.

The world's biggest retailer was the first to stock Linux PCs on its shelves but now claims that the devices were not popular.

Wal-Mart will sell the PCs online but those without an internet capability will lose out.

"This really was not what our customers were looking for," a company spokeswoman told Associated Press.

Wal-Mart stocked the gPC, built by Everex of Taiwan, in 600 stores and all the systems sold out. But the firm has decided not to restock the computers.

Everex said that selling the PCs online was significantly more effective than retail sales.

But the move will raise the fears of those in the open source movement that they are not playing on a level playing field with Microsoft in the retail arena.