Kerala chief minister V S Achuthanandan has announced that an International Study Centre on Free Software and its applications will open its doors in Thiruvananthapuram this month.

Inaugurating the second international conference on 'Freedom in Computing' held in the city, Achuthanandan said a free software training centre would also open in Kochi soon. He said, "Free software is a reply to those who commercialise all human values and a challenge to imperialist forces who tried to monopolise intellectual properties." Earlier, the government tooksteps to impart computer training to the marginalised sections in society with a programme titled "Insight".

The chief minister said the Left government in Kerala had taken a policy decision to accord priority to free software for its e-goverance programmes. Expressing happiness at the participation of tribals and fishermen community in the conference, he said technology should be made available to all sections of society. Founder of the Free Software Foundation Richard Stallman was among the 500 delegates attending the three-day conference, organised jointly by the State IT Mission and the Society for Promotion of Alternative Computing and Employment. X