Borland has revamped Kylix, its Linux software development tool, to include better support for Web applications, including Microsoft's .Net. Kylix 2, announced on Tuesday, builds on the tool's popular graphical programming environment and adds more features for Web services, including support for Web service standards like SOAP (simple object access protocol), XML (extensible markup language) and WSDL (Web services description language), the company said. Kylix, announced earlier this year in desktop and server editions, is aimed at the large group of developers already familiar with Borland's popular Delphi programming tools. It provides an easy-to-use interface and a library of reusable components to speed up application development, things that Windows developers have been used to for years but which are hard to come by in the Linux world. Delphi has itself recently been updated to support Web services. "Borland's combination of Kylix 2 with Delphi 6 delivers true cross-platform development, which is especially important as Linux continues to grow as a mainstream operating system," said Bill Claybrook, research director, Linux and Open Source Software, Aberdeen Group, in a statement. Web services are expected to become increasingly important as more sophisticated applications are transferred to the Internet, and tools like Kylix are aimed at making it easier for Linux developers to take part. For new users, Kylix 2 Enterprise costs $1,999 (about £1,400) and the professional edition costs $249 (£175). Borland will also release an Open Edition for free download in the fourth quarter. The Open Edition is specifically for creating applications for distribution under the GPL (GNU Public Licence), and programmers will need one of the paid versions if they want to keep their applications proprietary. See the Developer News Section for jobs and the latest headlines. See the Linux Lounge for the latest GNU/Linux and open source headlines. See the Software News Section for full coverage. Have your say instantly, and see what others have said. Click on the TalkBack button and go to the Linux lounge forum Let the editors know what you think in the Mailroom. And read other letters.