BEAVERTON, Ore. and TOKYO -- The Open Source Development Labs (OSDL), a global consortium of leading technology companies dedicated to accelerating the adoption of Linux, today announced the formation of a new Linux Working Group in Japan to focus on developing enhancements to advance the use of Linux in Japan for data center computing and for the telecommunications industry. The working group, organized by OSDL and comprised of Fujitsu, Hitachi, IBM, Intel, Miracle Linux, Mitsubishi Electric, NEC and Toshiba, will pool resources to address technical issues and features unique to Linux in the Japan market such as internationalization support. The group is starting its work with an emphasis on the finance, manufacturing, telecommunications and government sectors. The Japan group will work under OSDL's broader Carrier Grade Linux (CGL) and Data Center Linux (DCL) global initiatives, said Stuart Cohen, CEO of OSDL. "The Japanese market has a unique set of requirements -- which are related to how double-byte language is supported in software -- and Linux is no exception," Cohen said. "We are encouraged by the commitment of leading Japanese IT vendors to work with us on this project and we think the results will accelerate the progress we are already making in our CGL and DCL working groups." "The expertise of our partners in Japan to take on this ambitious project is unmatched," said Shinji Takazawa, director of the OSDL Lab in Japan. "Working to broaden the scope of the CGL and DCL initiatives will help more customers in Japan adopt Linux as the preferred computing platform in their industries."