Microsoft has unveiled an interesting alternative to the OLPC as a solution to developing countries. Rather than providing a new platform and requiring an order of one million units, Microsoft's plan is to offer very low pricing on their popular Windows and Office products -- in fact, the projected price is only three dollars.

Microsoft's program to reach developing countries is known as "Unlimited Potential" and is aiming to double the computing base by 2015 by reaching out to a billion people with low-cost software. In order to qualify for the discounted price, governments will need to provide free PCs for school use.

AMD has a similar program in place called 50x15 that is centered on its Personal Internet Communicator, but Microsoft is not offering its own hardware. Instead, it is expected that Microsoft will leverage the upcoming Intel Classmate PC, which has already stated to run Windows XP.

The $3.00 package includes Windows XP Starter Edition, Microsoft Office 2007 Home and Student Edition, and several other unnamed educational programs. XP Starter Edition differs from the other versions of XP by its rather significant limitations - 800x600 maximum resolution, a maximum of three programs open at once, and "client-only" networking are some of the major caps placed on the cheaper version.

Despite the parallels drawn to the OLPC project, Microsoft isn't trying to pull the wool over anyone's eyes. "This is not a philanthropic effort, this is a business," stated Orlando Ayala of Microsoft. In many developing countries, pirated software is sold for pennies on the dollar; but Microsoft seems confident that the program will find favor with governments seeking to promote education programs in their countries.