Mandriva Linux 2006 now pre-loaded on HP machines in Latin America

Mandriva, a publisher of the popular Mandriva Linux operating system, has announced a new partnership with HP to distribute pre-loaded Mandriva Linux 2006 on HP machines in 37 countries in Latin America. The companies will work together on sales, support and marketing in all Latin American territories, including Brazil, Argentina and Mexico. The partnership has already started to take effect, with the first pre-loaded machines shipping in Brazil.

Technical support will be offered in both Spanish and Portuguese for all of Latin America. This new agreement marks Mandriva's continued confidence in the quality of its Linux operating system and validates its strategic investment in Brazil through the acquisition of Conectiva. About Mandriva: Mandriva is a publisher of the popular Mandriva Linux operating system, one of the most full-featured and easy to use Linux systems. The company offers its enterprise, government educational customers a complete range of GNU/Linux and Open Source software and related services. Mandriva products are available in more than 120 countries through dedicated channels and also from Mandrivastore.com, the company's online store. "Born on the Internet" in late 1998, has offices in the United States, France and Brazil.

Mandriva is traded on Paris Euronext Marché Libre (ISIN Code: FR0004159382/MLMAN; Reuters code: MAKE.PA) and the US OTC market (stock symbol MDKFF). About HP: HP is a technology solutions provider to consumers, businesses and institutions globally. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, global services, business and home computing, and imaging and printing. For the four fiscal quarters ended Oct. 31, 2005, HP revenue totaled $86.7 billion. More information about HP (NYSE, Nasdaq: HPQ) is available at http://www.hp.com.