Canonical Software, based in Circular Road in Douglas, has announced the new version of its Ubuntu Linux software.

The operating system, which has been hailed in tech circles as a real competitor to Microsoft Windows, will be released in April next year.

Canonical's founder, Mark Shuttleworth, made the announcement at a major Linux convention this week.

He says version 10.4 will, in line with previous incarnations, have an animal based name, in this case Lucid Lynx.

In his announcement, Mr Shuttleworth explained it's a small cat, which fits nicely with the lean nature of Ubuntu; it's stylish and sleek, the bow-tie-adorned James Bond of the feline set; and it's the national animal of Macedonia, a country that has deployed tens of thousands of Ubuntu desktops in schools.