Coinciding with the second annual open computing in government conference in Canberra next month, Special Minister of State, Senator Eric Abetz will launch the Australian government 'Open Source Guide', the Australian Unix Users Group (AUUG) has announced.

The guide will provide practical information and approaches that government agencies may consider when assessing open source solutions.

Titled "Future-proofing government computing: open data, formats and standards", the conference will present best practices, raise awareness of open source in government, and share experiences amongst policy makers and IT officials, a spokesman said.

The guide to open source software for Australian government agencies will be released at the conference where the keynote will be given by acting government CIO John Grant. Grant represents the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO), which is within the Department of Finance and Administration. AGIMO will publish the guide.

Other speakers include Senator Stephen Conroy, Shadow Minister for ICT; Mark Shuttleworth, founder of Ubuntu Linux; and Greg Stone, national technology officer for Microsoft Australia.

The second annual open computing in government conference will be held at the Australian National University, Canberra, April 18 and 19 2005.