Guangdong Province Information Industry Department has signed a cooperative agreement with IBM and Shenzhen Zhongxing Communications Co., Ltd to work on the construction of a Linux Public Service Technology Support Center, the first of its kind in China.

The construction work will be undertaken by Shenzhen Zhongxing Communications Co., Ltd under commission of Guangdong Provincial Information Industry Department. The project will cost CNY62 million in total, of which CNY 30 million will be invested by Guangdong Provincial Finance Department. The Linux center will start on electronic political affairs systems and then gradually extend to other sectors. And it is expected that by its completion, it will be able to provide more and better technical support for the software development industry and solution providers in the province.