On Wednesday, December 22, Oracle released a new version of its freely available virtual machine distribution software - the VM VirtualBox 4.0 version, which facilitates the running of several operating systems simultaneously on desktop or laptop computers.

The several host operating systems that the new Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.0 supports include Windows, Mac OS X, and some versions of Linux including Oracle Linux and Oracle Solaris.

According to Wim Coekaerts, senior VP of Oracle Linux and Virtualization Engineering, the company's new version of the virtual machine distribution software now boasts an easier-to-use interface, along with enhanced virtual appliance capabilities.

In addition, Coekaerts said that VirtualBox 4.0 also supports IT's newest virtual hardware, including chipsets supporting PCI Express; and added that the improvements essentially make the VirtualBox increasingly capable of handling bigger workloads.

Noting that Oracle's continuing investment in its Sun Microsystems-related open source-based products - like VirtualBox and OpenOffice - is quite apparent, Coekaerts said: "Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.0 is the third major product release in just over a year. This illustrates the importance that Oracle places on providing a comprehensive desktop to our data center virtualization solution."

Coekaerts also added that the new Oracle VM VirtualBox 4.0 will also unfold for the customers a much richer user experience vis-a-vis any of the earlier versions.