People are used to the idea that they can get a free cell phone by signing up for a service contract. But how about a free car?

Sun Microsystems President Jonathan Schwartz predicted Monday that the day may come when carmakers will give away an automobile if consumers sign up for a subscription to networked services powered by Sun's Java software.

"The auto industry is the next multibillion-dollar Java opportunity,'' said Schwartz in a speech at Sun's JavaOne conference in San Francisco. He noted that BMW already is selling its 700-series models with on-board navigation computers that use Java.

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