Intel has announced a Linux version of its netbook-oriented AppUp software store - in beta, for now.

As reported over on VentureBeat, the company has decided to embrace the use of Linux on netbook and nettop devices using its Atom range of low-power processors with the extension of its AppUp store.

Having enjoyed the success of the Windows version - bolstered, no doubt, by promises of prizes for those developers that take advantage of AppUp as a distribution mechanism for their wares - Intel has launched a beta program that brings the software store to Linux, but there's a catch: so far the only supported distribution is Intel's own Moblin Linux.

The store is live in Moblin version 2.1 - the latest release - although for now, like the Windows version, it's limited to the US only. Thankfully for us, that's about to change with the news that AppStore - for Windows and Linux - is due to launch across Europe by the end of the month.

While Intel has been lambasted by many of our readers for creating a processor that requires specially-designed, lightweight software in order to run at an acceptable level of performance, others see it as a logical progression following the popularity of the 'App Store' model on smartphones - and ideally suited to ultra-portable devices that don't have massive amounts of horsepower or storage.

Are you pleased to see AppUp coming to Linux, or are you still unconvinced that netbooks actually need such a thing? Share your thoughts over in the forums.