Intended to serve web pages using minimal power, Marvell Semiconductor’s SheevaPlug is a Linux PC built into a mains plug.

"Unlike other embedded devices in the home, it contains a gigahertz class processor to offer PC class performance," said the firm. "This makes it a viable alternative to a PC for any software service."

Marvell bought Intel’s StrongArm and XScale business, and has a licence to design processors that execute ARM instructions - including its Sheeva core.

"We have created an open computing platform for developers in a consumer and eco-friendly form factor. Marvell's goal is to accelerate the development and availability of innovative software and services in the home," said Dr Simon Milner, v-p at Marvell's consumer business group at Marvell.

SheevaPlug is actually a development kit, incorporating a 1.2GHz Sheeva CPU equipped with 512Mbyte of flash and 512Mbyte of DRAM.

Gigabit Ethernet and USB 2.0 ports connect it to the home network and peripherals including bulk storage.

"Multiple Linux 2.6 kernel distributions are supported on the development platform enabling rapid application development," said Marvell. "The enclosure is designed to plug directly into a standard wall socket and is designed to draw less than one tenth of the power of a typical PC being used as a home server."

SheevaPlug development kit cost $99 and several consumer firms have already built products around the concept.

More information: www.marvell.com