Peru trials One Laptop Per Child

Microsoft and the One Laptop Per Child project announced Monday that Peru will be the first country to try out XO laptops running Microsoft Windows as part of a nine-month pilot programme.

The companies said they are still trying to determine the size of the trial. Microsoft has been working for some time to port Windows onto the XO devices and the two companies announced in May that OLPC would start selling a Windows-based XO laptop to interested countries.

"We are extremely excited to take part in this historic educational pilot that will benefit school children throughout Peru," said Peru's education minister, Jose Antonio Chang Escobedo. "Integrating technology into our school curriculum will help to advance our knowledge economy, improve access to information and will generate opportunities for our students."

OLPC had initially focused solely on Linux, but began working with Microsoft after a number of countries indicated that they were only interested in the XO if it could run Windows.

"This pilot in Peru represents an important milestone in the evolution of One Laptop per Child," said Charles Kane, president of One Laptop per Child. "It demonstrates our ability to collaborate with Microsoft to provide governments a choice of operating system on the XO laptop."

For more on OLPC's green credentials, read up on its plans to create a one watt computer.