Sun Microsystems (SUNW), the OpenOffice.org community and Redflag announced they will together focus on integrating new features in the Chinese localization of OpenOffice.org.

OpenOffice.org is a key implementation of OpenDocument Format, the ISO 26300 open standard file format for office applications that is completely vendor neutral. The suite of software applications competes directly with Microsoft's Office product, which combines applications like Microsft Wod, Excel, and Powerpoint.

Under the provisions of the agreement, Beijing Redflag Chinese 2000, which produces the popular OpenOffice.org-based RedOffice, will add to the open source project approximately 50 engineers, some of whom have been working on the OpenOffice.org project since the second half of 2006.

Hu CaiYong, CEO of Redflag Chinese 2000, stated, "I look forward to the innovative and new accomplishments our collaboration will produce. I view this ceremony as saying Hello! from China to the community. There is much to learn for everyone. And much to gain."

Since OpenOffice.org 2.2 was released in late March, there have been more than 2.7 million downloads from the OpenOffice.org Web site and most of these have been of the Windows version, making it the world's leading freely available productivity suite.

"We are glad to welcome Redflag Chinese 2000 to partner with us on OpenOffice.org, the world's leading free productivity suite and community," said Rich Green, executive vice president, Software, Sun Microsystems. "Redflag's dedication and commitment to OpenOffice.org further strengthens the community and enhances the product with Chinese localization, quality assurance, and core productivity applications."