The percentage of PCs sold with the Linux operating system (OS) already installed is gradually rising, according to information gathered and published by Context Research's SalesWatch survey. Over the past four quarters the figure has grown from a low of 0.13 per cent to 1.04 per cent in the second quarter of this year, it says.

A year ago, reseller respondents to the survey said 20 percent or fewer of the systems they delivered went out with Linux already installed. By this August, that figure had risen to 23 percent.

Resellers are delivering more and more Linux-based systems, according to Context's Channel Facts research. Particularly in Europe, the open source operating system is advancing steadily, with 35 percent of resellers selling Linux systems this year, compared with 30 percent last year.

The number of Linux OSs installed as standard is quite low compared with the dominating position of Windows XP Home and Professional versions, Context points out, but the figures do not include systems that have had Linux installed in addition to the original OS.

Context's Channel Facts survey suggests the demand for clients based on the open-source operating system will increase. In fact, more than half claimed that demand is already on the rise, compared with a third who are seeing no change.

Context is the largest independent specialist business and consumer technology research company in Europe, providing facts-based data and competitive analysis on technology markets and channels for the vendor, user and analyst communities.

For more information, visit www.contextworld.com.