Mac mini with 10.6 installed - dual boot 10.8?

Hi all
I have an a Mac mini with 10.6.8 installed (think it came with 10.5) and would like to buy Mountain Lion from the Apple Store and install it as a dual boot setup. I think the hardware is too old for 10.10 (although it does give me the option to download it from the App store). I would like to keep my existing install and install 10.8 either alongside 10.6 or on a separate partition. Couple of questions;
Can I shrink the partition that contains my existing 10.6 install (there is plenty of space on the disk), create another partition and install 10.8 onto it?
Failing that can I install 10.8 alongside 10.6 on the same partition (like we used to do for OS9 and OSX)?
For 10.8 I will be receiving a "content code" for the Mac App Store - once I download the files and start the install presumably the Mac will restart and I will get access to the usual install utilities (without the OS running)?
Many thanks for any help.

If your computer will run Mountain Lion, it will run Yosemite.
1. Yes.
2. I would go with 2 partitions.
Yes.
Check that your computer is compatible with Mountain Lion/Mavericks/Yosemite.
To check the model number hold down the option/alt key, go to the Apple menu and select System Information.
Mac mini (Early 2009 or newer) model number 3,1 or higher
Your Mac needs:
OS X v10.6.8 or OS X Lion already installed
2 GB or more of memory (More is better - 4 GB minimum seems to be the consensus)
8 GB or more of available space
Check to make sure your applications are compatible. PowerPC applications are no longer supported after 10.6.
Application Compatibility
Applications Compatibility (2)
Do a backup before installing.

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