OLPC extends Give-One-Get-One scheme to Europe

AFTER BEING PLEASANTLY surprised by the generosity of US citizens in OLPC’s Give One Get One kiddie laptop scheme, the firm has finally decided to test the generosity of Europeans too.

From November 17^th, 30 European countries, including the UK, Ireland, France, Germany, Russia and Turkey will also be able to participate in the offer via Amazon.com, after Americans dug deep and bought 100,000 laptops for children around the world.

The idea of buying one little XO laptop for oneself and having one automatically donated to a school in a developing nation first started back in November 2007 in the Sates, but problems with production and delivery delays put a bit of a damper on the scheme.

But now OLPC has pulled on its green cord and started the plan up again, with Amazon hopefully helping to smooth the way. The price for the XOs, which will ship with the Linux Sugar OS, has yet to be finalised, but is thought to be somewhere in the region of $399 (£254). Apparently no VAT will be added, but it’s not completely clear if other taxes might apply in some regions.

OLPC spokesman, Daniel Drake, said the success of the programme last year, " really demonstrated to the organisation that consumer donations are a very promising way to progress the mission of empowering children in the developing world."

Asked whether he thought the credit crunch might affect people’s generosity this time around, Drake said it all seemed to be business as usual. He did, however, admit that with consumers feeling the squeeze, people might be feeling slightly less giving, but reckons it won’t have a significant impact.

Citizens from the following countries can take part in the initiative via Amazon: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom. µ

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