PalmSource, provider of Palm OS operating system, today announced that LG Electronics has signed an agreement to license Palm OS worldwide. Under terms of the agreement, LG Electronics can develop and market smartphones based on Palm OS.

"LG Electronics is pleased to have entered into this agreement with PalmSource," said Skott Ahn, executive vice president of LG Electronics. "The flexible, open and powerful nature of Palm OS is an ideal match for our industry leading mobile handsets. We believe our customers will appreciate the new Palm Powered phones we will develop and distribute."

"LG Electronics is a leading innovator in the development and manufacture of mobile devices including award-winning mobile handsets," said Patrick McVeigh, interim CEO of PalmSource. "We are excited to welcome LG Electronics to the Palm Powered Economy and look forward to working with LG to develop new, cutting-edge smartphones for delivery to the worldwide marketplace."

With over 29,000 Palm OS software titles available today, the Palm OS platform offers one of the largest third-party software catalogs to enable users to customize their Palm Powered smart mobile devices to fit particular needs. Choosing Palm OS opens up new business channels for hardware manufacturers and software developers and provides the opportunity to broaden their reach into the smartphone and wireless device markets.