LATE NEWS: Oracle and Sun unveil alliance

Oracle and Sun Microsystems have unveiled an alliance to develop software that will compete head-to-head with Microsoft's Windows in a bold attempt to take on the vendor in the operating system market.

Larry Ellison, chairman and chief executive of Oracle, said the deal would put 'a miniature mainframe on the desktop', by integrating Sun's Solaris technology with Oracle's database technology, without the need for an operating system such as Windows.

In a scathing attack on Microsoft, Ellison said: 'The database is the engine of internet commerce and 64-bit technology is a key part of this.

Windows 2000 will turn Intel's upcoming 64-bit hardware into 32-bit hardware.'

'This is a perfect example of how two companies can integrate their ideas without the consumer losing choice,' he added.