The Redmond, Washington based software giant, Microsoft has announced that it has planned to aid the One Laptop Per Child project by offering its Windows XP operating system for a fee of just $3 per unit.

OLPC aims to provide low-cost notebook computers to the students in developing countries. The project will now provide low-cost notebook computers equipped with Microsoft’s XP OS.  

According to Craig Mundie, Microsoft’s chief research and strategy officer, the collaboration between the two is called Unlimited Potential. 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.

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.