March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Hewlett-Packard Co., the world’s largest maker of personal computers, is “studying” Google Inc.’s Android operating system software for use on scaled-down notebook PCs known as netbooks.

“We are interested in understanding all the various operating-system choices in the marketplace that could be used by our competitors,” said Marlene Somsak, spokeswoman for Palo Alto, California-based Hewlett-Packard. “With respect to Google Android, we’re studying the OS in general and looking at its computing and communications capabilities.”

A shift of Android use to PCs from smart phones would encroach on a market dominated by Microsoft Corp., whose Windows operating-system software is used on more than 90 percent of the world’s PCs. Unlike Windows, Android is open-source software that is distributed for free and can be modified by developers.

Google said it has no announcements to make today on computer makers adopting its software.

“The Android smart-phone platform was designed from the beginning to scale downward to feature phones and upward to mobile Internet devices and netbook-style devices,” said Google spokeswoman Katie Watson. “We look forward to seeing what contributions are made and how an open platform spurs innovation.”

Netbook Growth

Google started Android, based on the Linux open-source operating system, in 2007 as part of an industry effort to create a free software system for phones. T-Mobile USA Inc., the fourth-biggest wireless carrier in the U.S., offers an Android phone called the G1.

Hewlett-Packard declined to comment on whether any products using Android are in development.

The company last year began selling a netbook line called the Mini, and sells models powered by Windows Vista and Linux. Netbooks, designed for users who want a low-cost PC for surfing the Internet, represent the fastest-growing part of the PC industry. The size of the market will double this year, while traditional notebook sales will grow just 1.2 percent, according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Netbooks typically sell for less than $500 and are about the size of a book, with screens 7 inches (17.8 centimeters) to 12 inches wide.

“This has long been a competitive space,” said Ben Rudolph, senior manager in the Windows group at Microsoft. “We know customers have a choice. We are pleased that they’ve overwhelmingly chosen Windows.”

Hewlett-Packard fell 6 cents to $32.06 at 4 p.m. on the New York Stock Exchange. The shares have dropped 12 percent this year. Google, based in Mountain View, California, rose $5.37, or 1.6 percent, to $348.06 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading.

To contact the reporter on this story: Connie Guglielmo in San Francisco at cguglielmo1@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: March 31, 2009 18:35 EDT