Linux founder Linus Torvalds has been shortlisted for the prestigious Millennium Technology Prize, according to The Inquirer.
The Technology Academy of Finland named the free software innovator as one of two finalists for the prize, which is awarded every two years.
Torvalds is joined by fellow finalist stem cell researcher Dr Shinya Yamanaka, and both nominees will attend a ceremony in June where the winner will be awarded $1.3m in prize money.
If selected, Torvalds will join the long list of pioneering information technology researchers and engineers who have been honored with the prize. Past recipients include Sir Tim Berners-Lee for his creation of the hypertext technology underpinning the worldwide web and LED researcher Shuji Nakamura.
Technology Academy of Finland director Dr Ainomaija Haarla said, "We had many worthy nominations that we deliberated over, but ultimately we narrowed it down to these two candidates who have made such a significant impact in the field of computing and stem cell research."
Widely known as the creator of Linux, Torvalds began work on his free software Unix-like operating system in 1991 while still a student at the University of Helsinki.
Last year, Torvalds released Linux 3.3, the first version of the operating system that contains parts of the Android project.
