Intel announced that its collaboration with OLPC project has come to an end and that they were withdrawing their funding. The reasons for the unexpected move were explained by Intel Corp. spokeswoman Agnes Kwan, who said that Intel was asked to stop funding the Classmate program (which aims at producing inexpensive laptops for children in developing countries), as it would compete with the OLPC program.

“We have long believed that there is no single solution to the needs of children in emerging markets. We concluded that we cannot accommodate the request,” the Intel representative said according to the Boston Globe. The announcement came few days before the highly announced laptop was said to be exposed at the Las Vegas CES technology fair.

Intel and OLPC joined forces earlier this year, but the venture came to an end when OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte decided that Intel was working not for, but against the One Laptop Per Child project, because of the Classmate program. However, the OLPC officials were not willing to make any comments on the decision for the time being.

Another Intel spokesman, Chuck Mulloy said that the two boards came to a “philosophical impasse”, due to OLPC’s request: “OLPC had asked Intel to end our support for non-OLPC platforms, including the Classmate PC, and to focus on the OLPC platform exclusively. At the end of the day, we decided we couldn’t accommodate that request.”

OLPC is a non-profit organization established by Nicholas Negroponte in 2005, whose main purpose was to offer every child in the world the possibility to own a computer, pricing the XO laptop at $188 dollars, but truing to find new ways of reducing its cost to $100. Intel’s decision in July 2007 to join the project was a surprising one, considering Intel’s criticism concerning the XO “gadget” and the accusations of Negroponte that Intel was trying to undercut its efforts.

The peace treaty apparently didn’t last for long, and six months later the deal was off. Irreconcilable differences? Perhaps. OLPC will choose an alternative path now, but no one knows what to expect. On the other hand, Intel will continue to promote its Classmate program, according to its belief, that the more alternatives for children in poor countries, the better.