The XO laptop idealized by the One Laptop per Child - OLPC organization has a global educational goal to provide one low cost computer for every child in a developing nation. The objective is to produce a computer cheap enough to be given to children in many developing countries such as Brazil and India. Its price, after several debates and negotiations went from $100 to $176 but its final price should be negotiated to governments for $100.

OLPC announced on BBC today that the green light was given for mass production of the components necessary to build the XO. The intent is to start handing these laptops to children as early as October of this year. It has not been announced yet which country will be the first.

The XO is pretty simple but yet highly functional in a educational setting. It comes with Linux and several open source applications such as: web browser, AbiWord, a RSS reader, an email program, VoIP, chat, a wiki, and video and audio player. Don't worry, you can really set these on the hands of a child, it will be water proof and it will be able to handle some bumps.

The goal is to improve education in a global setting, but... according to Reuters, Nigerian students testing the XO were caught browsing porn (some may call this educational as well). To "solve" this problem special filters will be placed against browsing porn, but of course this will hold only until some 12 year-old kid breaks the code.

Watch a short video done at the Luciana Abreu School in Porto Alegre, Brazil:

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