South Korea, China and Japan have signed an agreement to jointly develop a new operating system based on Linux as an alternative to Microsoft Corp.'s Windows.

The agreement was signed in Beijing Saturday after a working-level meeting of among officials from the three countries.

Linux is an open-source OS that can be copied and modified freely.

The three nations aim to bolster the competitiveness of their information technology industries. The new project also seeks to strengthen their computer networks against viruses and other obstacles as well as counter the prevalence of Windows.

They also decided to establish a forum for private companies of the three countries to promote open-source operating systems in northeast Asia through the cooperation of governments and private sectors.

An overwhelmingly large share of the world's computers run on Windows, and Microsoft has been criticized for damage caused by viruses that spread easily due to the large number of computers that use the company's OS.