SAN RAFAEL, Calif., Sept. 24 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK), a leader in 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software, and Parallels, a worldwide leader in virtualization and automation software, announced that they have signed an agreement to make Parallels Desktop for Mac Autodesk's preferred Mac virtualization software.

Autodesk will now support use of AutoCAD software, AutoCAD LT software, Autodesk Inventor Professional software, Autodesk 3ds Max software, Autodesk 3ds Max Design software and the Autodesk Revit software platform for building information modeling (BIM) on Mac OS X via Parallels Desktop. Autodesk added official support for these products on the Mac via Boot Camp earlier this year.

"Autodesk customers are increasingly working with both Mac and Windows, and have asked us to support Mac virtualization," said Chris Bradshaw, Autodesk chief marketing officer. "Today we are pleased to welcome Parallels as a partner and Parallels Desktop as our preferred Mac virtualization software. This is the latest step in Autodesk's ongoing efforts to support our customers on the Mac, who will now be able to use some of our most popular 2D and 3D design, engineering and entertainment software alongside Mac OS X, in addition to the five native Mac applications we currently offer."

"Parallels Desktop for Mac enables over two million users to run Windows-based applications seamlessly and simply on their Mac," said Serguei Beloussov, chief executive officer of Parallels. "Autodesk has a long history of creating innovative and industry-leading software for design, engineering and entertainment, and we've heard many requests from customers interested in using their Autodesk applications with Parallels. We are delighted to partner with Autodesk to help make this software more broadly available to the Mac community."

With the launch of the Autodesk Alias family of software for Mac OS X earlier this year, Autodesk now offers six native Mac OS X applications for the entertainment, multimedia and design industries, including Autodesk SketchBook Pro, Autodesk Maya, Autodesk Mudbox and Autodesk Stitcher Unlimited software. For more information about Autodesk Mac support, visit http://www.autodesk.com/mac.

About Parallels -- Optimized Computing

Parallels is a worldwide leader in virtualization and automation software that optimizes computing for consumers, businesses and cloud services providers across all major hardware, operating systems and virtualization platforms. Founded in 1999, Parallels is a fast-growing company with 700 employees in North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, please visit www.parallels.com.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc., is a world leader in 2D and 3D design and engineering software for the manufacturing, building and construction, and media and entertainment markets. Since its introduction of AutoCAD software in 1982, Autodesk has developed the broadest portfolio of state-of-the-art Digital Prototyping solutions to help customers experience their ideas before they are real. Fortune 1000 companies rely on Autodesk for the tools to visualize, simulate and analyze real-world performance early in the design process to save time and money, enhance quality and foster innovation. For additional information about Autodesk, visit www.autodesk.com.

Autodesk, AutoCAD, AutoCAD LT, Alias, Autodesk Inventor, ImageModeler, Inventor, Maya, Mudbox, Revit, SketchBook, Stitcher and 3ds Max are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product offerings and specifications at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

(C) 2009 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

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    Autodesk Contact: Noah Cole         Parallels Contact: Kate Lannan
    Email: noah.cole@autodesk.com       Email : klannan@parallels.com
    Phone : +1 415 200 6310             Phone : +1 425 282 6416

SOURCE Autodesk, Inc.

Web site: http://www.autodesk.com/
http://www.parallels.com//