Colombia participates in the program 'Every Child a Laptop'

Colombia has just signed up for the "one laptop per child" program (OLPC), with the aim of giving students the opportunity to use low-cost computers. About 65,000 children in Colombia's Caldas region will soon be using the XO laptop.

The purpose of the OLPC program is to increase educational opportunities for children in developing countries through technology.

Small towns and rural areas will receive the first 15,000 XO laptops. The rest will be distributed in the next 18 months for larger areas.

XO and XP

Caldas is the first region in South America to use an XO laptop.

Opening the program, Caldas' leader, Mario Aristizabal, said it is committed to giving every child in elementary school equal opportunities to access knowledge like those children enjoy. This privilege is in New York, Berlin or Tokyo.

Another agreement with the OLPC program is also under negotiation to buy XO laptops for schools in and around the capital Manizales.

In a statement about the deal, OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte said the organization has begun to get the attention of countries, wishing to sign and buy special blue and white XO laptops with bulk.

The purpose of OLPC's claims in the early days was to create a machine for only $ 100 and sell millions. But it seems that both of these objectives are not possible.

Currently each machine costs 188 USD and OLPC only sells 600,000 units

In mid-May, the OLPC team unveiled an agreement with Microsoft to bring the Windows XP operating system into the XO. Professor Negroponte said that many countries want laptops running Windows before they sign with OLPC.

The project also revealed information on the design of a second-generation computer, shaped like an ebook and two touch screens.

Negroponte hopes the device will be available in 2010 for $ 75.