By Eydie Cubarrubia

Hewlett-Packard may add a Linux-run PC to its line of computers—perhaps indicating the desktop computer market is finally ready for open-source operating systems, an HP exec and a Linux expert said Thursday.

Demand for Linux PCs is rising in both developing and established markets, and this might provide incentive for HP to reintroduce a Linux-powered PC, said Doug Small, HP’s worldwide director of open-source and Linux marketing.

“We’ve seen core demand in India and China,” Mr. Small said, citing an increase in requests for Linux-related customized deals.

For example, he said one Chinese company recently signed a contract for 30,000 Linux laptops. Mr. Small wouldn’t disclose the PC maker that did the deal with the Chinese company. HP a few years ago tried introducing a Linux laptop and desktop but weak demand prompted the computer maker to discontinue those models.

HP isn’t the only major PC vendor considering selling factory-installed Linux systems. Dell has been thinking about it, too, ever since it received innumerable suggestions to do so on its new customer-feedback web site.

All this could mean Linux is ready for widespread adoption, at least in the business market. “With the Linux platform becoming more standardized, document formats becoming standardized, available media formats, and basic office capabilities becoming available as open-source and web-based services [like] Google Apps, the Linux desktop is good enough for a whole range of enterprise deployments,” said John Cherry, Linux initiative manager at the Linux Foundation.

The Foundation itself was based on the idea that Linux is now ready to compete with closed platforms. It was created after two Linux consortiums—the Open Source Development Labs and the Free Standards Group—merged together in January (see Open Source Groups Merge).

Mr. Small said even though HP took Linux-installed computers off the market last year, it still offers machines that are certified to run the system for customers who want to install it on their own. It also puts Linux on machines for certain custom jobs, like the Chinese enterprise contract. In addition, Linux is available on so-called thin client computers.

But Linux lovers shouldn’t get their hopes up too high. The open OS won’t be displacing Microsoft. “Linux has a long way to go if we are talking about replicating the entire Windows desktop ecosystem,” Mr. Cherry said.

Leading computer industry analyst Roger Kay, founder of Endpoint Technologies Associates, noted that Linux still has compatibility issues with other operating systems (see Dell Faces Linux Conundrum).

But compatibility issues could dissipate if major computer makers start offering Linux on a large-scale basis. “Support from vendors such as HP, Dell, and Lenovo would definitely alleviate consumer fear,” Mr. Cherry said, adding that a Linux-powered consumer PC would likely be less expensive and “far less vulnerable” to security risks.