Web host 1&1 Internet Inc has announced a new hosted email and personal information management product called 1&1 MailXchange available in the US, based on open source, collaborative technology Open-Xchange.

Described by 1&1 as “an affordable alternative to Microsoft Exchange and SharePoint,” the software, announced Wednesday will offer small and medium-sized businesses a new hosted communication and collaboration solution that offers business-class email, PIM and document sharing. MailXchange also offers real-time push service for email and PIM on Windows Mobile capable phones.

Open-Xchange CEO Rafael Laguna said that the partnership with 1&1 will help deliver software and services to a wider range of clientele. “We’re seeing the dawn of a new era with hosted software made widely available to everyone when that was previously reserved only for installations at enterprises,” Laguna said in a statement. “1&1’s customers will benefit from access to our collaboration software that streamlines communications and can improve users’ productivity.”

1&1 MailXchange fees start at $4.99 per user per month with discounts for additional users.

1&1 is the latest company to collaborate with Open-Xchange. In May, web hosting software giant Parallels partnered with Open-Xchange to integrate Open-Xchange with Parallels Automation solutions in an effort to expand its Open Platform initiative using APIs to help integrate its virtualization and automation technology with third party applications and systems.

Web hosting provider 1&1 Internet announced on Tuesday it has signed a partnership with messaging and collaboration solutions provider Open-Xchange where 1&1 will base its forthcoming range of hosted email and collaboration packages upon Open-Xchange’s Smart Collaboration technology. The move represents 1&1’s progression within the global software as a service market, its confidence in open-source alternatives and its commitment to the open-source community.

1&1 will use the Open-Xchange platform for a range of 1&1 branded MailXchange email and collaboration packages to be launched worldwide. Available now in Germany, and subsequently in UK, France and US, 1&1 MailXchange will within the first half of 2007 offer the full set of personal information management functionality, including email, calendaring, contacts and task management, as well as advanced groupware features such as Documail and Smart Document Sharing.

The solutions will deliver functionality for small businesses and individuals, enabling remote working and communication at low price point, says the company. 1&1 MailXchange accounts will be available both as a stand-alone package and as a add-on for existing hosting customers.

“Our partnership with Open-Xchange is an important and valuable milestone in our open-source journey,” says Andreas Gauger, CEO of 1&1. “Internet Open-source applications have always been of interest to us, but the Open-Xchange offering now shows that open-source has matured to the level where it offers an excellent mainstream email and collaboration product.”