Are you doing your bit for the world?

Unlikely as it may seem, the latest battleground in IT is the school desk of children in developing countries.

Leading the way in publicity terms is the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project, dreamed up by US technology guru Nicholas Negroponte.

The aim was to provide a $100 computer based on low-cost components and open source software. The scheme has generated many column inches, but fewer sales. Negroponte admits that many heads of state who said they were interested are less keen to sign a cheque. A short-term scheme has been announced where US residents can purchase two OLPC laptops for $399, and one of them will be donated to a child in the developing world ­ the $100 laptop has already become a $150 laptop.

The motivation behind OLPC is sound, but the reality is proving to be a challenge. Nevertheless, Intel has been sufficiently impressed/worried (delete as you consider appropriate) to launch a rival scheme called the Classmate PC.

An already popular option is to donate used computers to be refurbished and sent out to projects in developing countries. Computing has supported the charity Computer Aid International for some years, and several thousand computers have already been provided by readers. Computer Aid is a great charity ­ even if we are biased ­ but it needs more backing and more PCs to spread its reach.

Microsoft founded a similar charity ­- and rival to Computer Aid -­ called Digital Pipeline, and in July announced that EDS had donated 30,000 PCs for use by schoolchildren in Africa. Some have questioned Microsoft’s motives ­ you can’t see those PCs having Linux installed ­ but the recipients will not be complaining.

And last week, another scheme popped up. Macedonia’s Ministry of Education and Science has signed a €44m (£30.8m) deal for thin-client supplier NComputing to provide 180,000 devices costing just £35 each to the entire school population of the former Yugoslav republic.

For UK IT leaders, the race for the school desk has clear implications. The drive to reduce the cost of personal computing can only benefit your budget ­ although the impact will probably not be felt for some time, and IT suppliers are unlikely to rush to offer the same low-cost technology to wealthy business buyers.

But this is also an opportunity for IT departments to play their part in the organisation’s corporate social responsibility plans by donating PCs or supporting projects in the developing world. The question for those in UK IT is: what are you doing to help?

What do you think? Read my blog at http://editor.computing.co.uk