A Hong Kong firm has begun taking orders for a homegrown processor designed for thin clients, mobile devices and network computers.
The V-Dragon chip from Culturecom Holdings is the company's first such product and claims to be designed specifically for Chinese-language handling and the open-source Linux operating system.
Culturecom claims to have worked with IBM to develop the processor, which is based on a 32-bit RISC design.
The company said that the chip comes with native ability to generate Chinese characters with a onboard engine, which can very quickly assemble words out of simple building blocks pulled from a cache, compared with other computers which need to draw on complete character fonts stored on a slower hard drive.
The processor has been optimised to run Midori Linux, licensed from US chipmaker Transmeta, according to Culturecom. Transmeta is a maker of energy-efficient x86-compatible processors for mobile devices.
Culturecom is selling a motherboard with the chip, which allows it to handle memory, a hard drive and offers ports such as USB for devices such as printers and Ethernet for networking.
Culturecom -- which is mainly a publisher and importer of kung-fu comics -- said in a statement on its Web site that the V-Dragon is designed to fit in with the Chinese government's plans to promote the local IT industry and reduce dependence on overseas tech suppliers. China's interest in Linux is also part of this trend, taking advantage of the fact that Linux is open-source and thus is not controlled by a single organisation.
"Beijing has consistently supported Linux and its applications, such as the Internet appliance, network PC, terminals and network systems. The V-Dragon CPU meets the required criteria of the People's Republic of China government for the promotion of a new IT-environment standard," Culturecom said in a statement.
"This V-Dragon Midori Linux embedded architecture is a leading system of its kind in the China market and is in line with the Chinese government's IT policy," said Frank W.T. Cheung, chairman of Culturecom.
The Chinese government supports homegrown efforts at building processors, computing devices and operating systems, as part of its efforts in national development. Working with firms such as Transmeta and AMD, it is building everything from handheld computers for e-learning as well as supercomputers, using its own version of the Linux, Red Flag. The country has also made some headway in designing its own 32-bit processors for desktop computers.
