Linux is being trialled in nine projects across the UK public sector as part of government-wide plans to promote cheap and efficient alternatives to proprietary software products.

Following Munich’s committment earlier this year to move to Linux and OpenOffice. The UK has nine ongoing trial studies of FOSS across the public sector.

This article states the trials are being backed by a governement spending watchdog group. IBM is leading this effort to spread Linux use in governments around the globe.

Taking the phrase “all politics is local” seriously is likely to create the ground swell of FOSS use needed for further spread in government use as this report from earlier this year indicates. Pressure applied to city councils and volunteerism among local user groups to run trials such as this will help.