UPDATE: Apple has signed an agreement with the French education ministry. This agreement will include Apple among the big PC-makers who contribute to the high-tech development of the French education. More information is provided in French here.

According to some reliable Apple sales sources, Apple's xServe and PowerMac have made a great effect in French, United Kingdom and Swiss businesses, education and research laboratories.

Sources indicated that Apple sees the first positive results of the strong business and institution targeted marketing it started in February in Europe, a few weeks after the announcement of the first G5 based xServe.

Apparently the xServe had very positive feedback from potential business, education and research customers in Europe. In France some government administrations and some research laboratories are considering using xServe technology and Macintosh computers. In Belgium, Switzerland, United Kingdom, and again France, some education contracts have been signed or are about to be signed, involving xServe clusters and PowerMac G5 sales.

The streaming business is one of the sectors Apple succeeds the most with its xServe family of computers but it looks like storage and research are now becoming xServe's main market.

So Apple is now gaining momentum in European business market and is even improving in European education and research. In the USA, Apple signed its biggest xServe contract last year with Virginia Tech university and recent news mentioned government contracts which is also a good point for Apple.