Canonical has launched Ubuntu 10.10, the latest version of the popular Linux distribution.

Both Desktop and Netbook editions of Ubuntu 10.10 “Maverick Meerkat” can be downloaded now for free from ubuntu.com.

“Focused on home and mobile computing users, Ubuntu 10.10 introduces an array of online and offline applications to Ubuntu Desktop Edition with a particular focus on the personal cloud. Ubuntu Netbook Edition users will experience an all-new desktop interface called ‘Unity’ — specifically tuned for smaller screens and computing on the move,” the press release says.

As it was previously announced, the new version supports touch and gesture inputs.

In addition, the company says that Ubuntu One personal cloud service for Ubuntu users includes new services and expanded features, performance enhancements and interoperability with other operating systems including Android, iPhone and Windows.

Canonical’s Ubuntu Linux 10.10 OS, codenamed “Maverick Meerkat”, will support multitouch gestures.

“Our multi-touch work began in Ubuntu 10.04 LTS, when we worked to get additional touch hardware supported in the Linux kernel, particularly the Dell XT2, HP tx2 tablets and the Lenovo T410s laptops. With that in place, and active development in X well under way, we reviewed our options for gesture recognition in Linux. The Maverick cycle has seen us produce several prototypes for gesture recognition software and the Ubuntu archives now include the results of that effort,” says Canonical.

The new feature is enabled by Ubuntu’s uTouch multi-touch and gesture framework.

Maverick Meerkat is currently in Alpha 3 stage. The final Ubuntu 10.10 release is expected in October.