Microsoft announced its plans to aid the One Laptop Per Child project by offering its Windows XP operating system for a fee of just $3 per unit.

The XP OS will be used by students in developing countries who will be given the low-cost notebook computers by the OLPC.

The collaboration between the two is called Unlimited Potential and according to Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer, their plan is to find as many affordable computing solutions for education as possible in order to offer students everywhere a much more relevant, complete, accessible and affordable technology experience.

The OLPC project managed to develop a low-cost education portable computer known as XO laptop. The device was offered an unique software, called Sugar, which presents many new features, previously supported only by the Linux-based software stack. The laptop’s capabilities include a dual-mode screen, camera, writing pad and WiFi.

Windows claims that its OS can be fully used on the XO machines, as its developers spent over a year customizing the software.

At this point, a third party needed to port the Sugar user interface onto the Windows software, is being looked for.

The innitial response was not very positive, as many consider that apart from the $3 Windows licence, the extra hardware required could bring the total cost of the XO laptops up to $200. The company’s innitial and ambitious goal was to offer the laptops at $100 and at this point OLPC’s notebooks are sold for $188.

In a joint statement, OLPC and Microsoft announced their plan to distribute the new notebooks in trial programs in four to five countries in June. A larger release is carefully planned for August or September.