<p>I am using the <code>ODBC</code> connector to access a MySQL db from Visual Studio 2008 and I'm facing performance problems when dealing with crystal reports and to solve this I need a native connector to visual studio. If someone has had a similar problem and knows a solution or tools (freeware preferable), I would be really grateful.</p>

You want
Connector/Net
Update:
This link should take you to a more recent version:
http://dev.mysql.com/downloads/connector/net/5.2.html