Oracle has released a free, low-spec version of its flagship 10g database, which it said will enable developers to deploy database software for enterprises more cheaply.

The Oracle 10g Express Edition (Oracle Database XE) beta will be generally available by the end of the year. It is a cut-down version that only runs servers with one processor and supports only 4GB of disk memory and 1GB of other memory.

"But it is important to understand it is not a powered-down platform in terms of the implications for IT managers," said Oracle's head of technology solutions, Peter Condon. "You can plug in and do with it all the things you can do with a standard Oracle database."

Microsoft intends to ship a free version of its own SQL Server 2005 database software - also called Express – in November. IBM has already released a free version of its own DB2 database.