Just thought I'd let you all know that I tried installing Ubuntu on the main PC, (which is tunning Windows 7) using the Wubi installer and it works.

I did do a bit of research before I installed it and it appears that you have to right click on the installer file and change it to Windows Vista compatability mode, which I did just to play safe, but I now have a happy shiny dual boot machine and even though I had read somewhere that he disk access speed isn't brilliant, it seems fine to me.

There's another option for anyone considering dipping a toe into the wonderful world of Linux.

Link to Wubi Website