Web hosting provider Netfirms.com announced on Friday it has launched an offering that enables developers to use both Linux and Microsoft Windows-based Web hosting platforms simultaneously to build dynamic Web sites and applications.

Netfirms.com MultiPlatform unifies both Web development environments providing seamless integration, cutting development time and hosting costs, says the company. Through proprietary technology developed by Netfirms, developers are able to use virtually any Web programming framework from either platform at the same time on the same Web site.

MultiPlatform delivers a complete range of Windows and Linux based Web site development tools under a single account including ASP.NET 2.0 and 1.0, Microsoft SQL Server 2005, Linux, Apache, MySQL, Ruby on Rails and PHP, says the company. Customers can utilize MultiPlatform through Netfirms.com's business plan from $14.95 a month.

"In the Web hosting market customers are often forced to choose between Windows or Linux platforms to build Web sites," says Thomas Savundra, president of Netfirms.com. "We saw an opportunity to turn the industry on its head and no longer force developers to choose. We expect our customers to see tremendous value with Netfirms MultiPlatform."