Nextgov

Open source software vendor Red Hat launched a Web site on Monday to "explore what happens when the open source way is applied to the world" through five channels: business, education, government, law and life.

The company hopes that Opensource.com will "kickstart conversations and engage the larger community in learning the lessons of participation and open source," a Red Hat spokesperson said.

The Web site's government channel will share "successes, as well as challenges, so that all of us can hold our government leaders accountable for the choices they make," according to a posted welcome message, and look at the "latest in the intersection of open source and government, with a special focus on the ways government can encourage and cultivate open source communities."

Visitors can create an account, log in, and comment and post to participate in the conversation. Currently on the channel are video conversations about government open source mandates between Venky Hariharan, director of corporate affairs for Red Hat-India, and Gunnar Hellekson, lead architect for Red Hat Government.