In June, Microsoft and Oracle announced a new partnership that would allow Oracle's software, including Java, to run on Windows Server Hyper-V and in Windows Azure. Today, another version of that Windows Azure-Java support was revealed for a launch later this year.

In a press release, Microsoft's subsidiary Microsoft Open Technologies announced a partnership with Azul Systems that will bring a version of the open source-based OpenJDK that will run on Windows Server on top of the Windows Azure cloud service.

Azul Systems will be the ones that will actually build and distribute the new OpenJDK version for Windows Azure, which will be freely distributed and licensed under the GNU rules. Microsoft will offer Azure engineering support along with an update for its Eclipse IDE plug-in that will work with the new OpenJDK version.

In a quote from the press release, Jean Paoli, the president of MS OpenTech, stated:

This partnership will enable developers and IT professionals to ensure their mission-critical apps deploy and run smoothly on Windows Azure, using the open source Java environment they prefer. With Azul Systems rich Java heritage and strong customer track record, partnering was a natural decision.

A preview version of the new OpenJDK will be released before the final build is made available later in 2013.

Source: Microsoft | Image via Microsoft