VIA Technologies has announced the launch of a beta version of the VIA Linux Portal as part of an initiative designed to extend collaboration with the open source community.

The Linux portal will initially offer graphics drivers for the VIA CN896 digital media IGP chipset for the new Ubuntu 8.04 LTS distribution.

Documentation and source code for these drivers will be released over the coming weeks, with official forums and bug tracking scheduled for implementation later this year. The VIA Linux Portal will also adhere to a regular release schedule that is aligned with kernel changes and the release of major Linux distributions.

Sponsored by Canonical, Ubuntu is released every six months, with Ubuntu 8.04 LTS the latest release in what has been consistently rated among the most popular of the many GNU/Linux distributions in the PC space.

The beta version of the VIA Linux Portal is located at http://linux.via.com.tw and currently offers driver files for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS and SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 Service Pack 1 for the VIA CN896 chipset with two south bridge options.