It's well known the fact that Google is a tough rival for Microsoft but only in the search engines and the Office suites competition. However, the Mountain View company doesn't like Microsoft at all and today, it praises Linux, the famous platform that seems to represent a main element of Google's power. Chris DiBona, Open Source Programs Manager at Google, said that almost every engineer working at the Googleplex has to know Linux since it is the main platform installed on their computers. Moreover, the results provided by the famous search technology are also provided by Linux servers.

"Ever since Google got its start, Linux has given us the power and flexibility we need to serve millions of users around the world," he says. Today, the Mountain View-based giant announced that it joined the Open Invention Network, a company founded by IBM, Novell, Philips, Red Hat and Sony working with Linux patents and other applications related to this platform. The main reason of the alliance?

"We believe that by becoming an Open Invention Network licensee, we can encourage Linux development and foster innovation in a way that benefits everyone. We're proud to participate in OIN's mission to help Linux thrive," Chris DiBona explains.

"As we look to grow the Linux Ecosystem, we are pleased to have Google become our first end-user licensee," said Jerry Rosenthal, chief executive officer of Open Invention Network. "Google is one of a growing number of companies, of all sizes, that value the openness and collaborative culture of the Linux community. We applaud their support for Linux."

Google has always been regarded as a company that loves to work with open-source software, the main aspect that concerns the Linux platform and its applications. This way, the search giant makes an important step into a different market able to bring an impressive amount of consumers and what's more important, new forces and communities to improve its own solutions.

At this time, Google has several solutions compatible with the Linux distributions available out there. For example, the Google fans can also install Google Earth on their Linux equipped systems as well as Google Desktop. The impact of this new partnership? Probably new solutions in the labs and who knows, maybe the Mountain View company works on its own operating system. I bet it would be a standard Linux distribution equipped with Google's downloadable solutions...