China's Wuxi Evermore Software Inc. has struck a deal with Japan's Internet Telephone Co. Ltd. to jointly develop the Japanese language version of Evermore Integrated Office (EIOffice).

Under the agreement, Internet Telephone also becomes the exclusive sales agent for the Japanese version of EIOffice, the "First Real Office," designed and priced to 'liberate' enterprise, small business and individual computer users from the Microsoft Office monoculture. The development and marketing deal in Japan comes as the Chinese developer of Office software makes the innovative suite of desktop software available to computer users in the United States and China.

EIOffice 2004 is written in Java and runs under Windows and Linux, targeting users who frequently move back and forth between open-source and proprietary operating systems. It integrates into one program, with one unified user interface, spreadsheet, word processor and business graphics functions that conventional Office users launch and run as separate applications. The English and Chinese editions of EIOffice 2004 are available immediately, priced US$398 for five years of free upgrades and unlimited support.