According to the initiator of OLPC, Nicholas Negroponte, who presented the idea to Libya's leader Col. Muammar el-Qaddafi in August, Mr. Qaddafi was immediately impressed with it. Libya is currently experiencing a technology boom that is supported by the government.


Prices for satellite dishes have sunk from 5000 Dinars to 200 Dinars (120 Euros), and Internet access is unlimited. The country boasts the lowest rate of illiteracy in the Arab world. The UN Index, which ranks standard of living, social security, health care, and other factors for development, sees Libya at the top of all African countries.


Prices for satellite dishes have sunk from 5000 Dinars to 200 Dinars (120 Euros), and Internet access is unlimited. The country boasts the lowest rate of illiteracy in the Arab world. The UN Index, which ranks standard of living, social security, health care, and other factors for development, sees Libya at the top of all African countries.


The idea to give a laptop to every Libyan schoolchild apparently appealed to Mr. Qaddafi because of his plans to take on a leading position on the African continent. Within this context is the idea of Libya financing laptops for some of its poorer neighbours, namely, Chad, Niger and Rwanda.


Libya will receive 1.2 million computers, one server per school, a team of technical advisers to help set up the system, satellite Internet service, and other infrastructure. The country will invest $250 million in that project.


The computers include a wireless connection, a built-in video camera, an eight-hour battery, and a hand crank for recharging batteries. Because Microsoft refuses to sell its Windows software to the project at a reasonable price, the computers will run on the Linux operating system. The laptops will initially be priced below $150, and the price should go down when they are manufactured in large numbers.