Sun Microsystems has unveiled the latest version of its visual development environment, Sun Java Studio Creator, which has been extended to support Mac and Solaris x86 platforms.

Available as a free upgrade, the package has been ported to Mac OS X and Solaris x86 in a bid to attract x86 and Mac developers.

In addition, the latest offering marks the first multi-language release of the product, with added support for Japanese and simplified Chinese.

The drag-and-drop development environment includes a complete version of Sun Java System Application Server 8, Platform Edition, the Java 2 Platform Standard Edition 1.4.2 SDK, and development time drivers for popular databases.

"Sun continues to aggressively broaden the market served by Java technology on multiple fronts, localising our tools to meet the needs of developers in high-growth markets and expanding the range of platforms our products support," said Jeff Jackson, vice president, Java developer platform and strategy at Sun.

"By making our products more accessible to developers around the world, on every major platform, we are supporting our commitment to make the Java language the most popular, developer-friendly technology on earth."

Java Studio Creator is available as part of the Sun Developer Network subscription programme costing $99 for a one-year subscription to Sun Developer Network Standard plus a perpetual licence to Java Studio Creator, with free updates during the life of the subscription.

Existing Java Studio Creator customers can upgrade to the new release for no charge through the AutoUpdate feature built into the product, or by visiting www.sun.com/jscreator.

Sun has invited Mac developers looking for advice and information on Java-related topics to visit its Mac Java community at community.java.net/mac.

The company also pointed to its ongoing promotion to Microsoft Certified Professionals, including Microsoft Certified Systems Engineers, which offers 50 per cent discount on Java Studio Creator.