XO laptop: Give one, get one with Amazon

The One Laptop Per Child project, whose goal was to create a low cost computer to foster learning for children in developing countries, has restarted its "Give 1, Get 1" scheme. The plan, which allows people to purchase one of the iconic green laptops for themselves and donate another to a child in need abroad, now counts web retailer Amazon.com as a global distribution partner.

"The phenomenal success of last year's Give 1 Get 1 program created tremendous demand from both the public, who wanted to give more, and from countries that saw an opportunity to attack poverty through education," Nicholas Negroponte, founder and chairman of OLPC, said in a statement.

At this time last year, the foundation with MIT roots launched a similar program, selling almost 190,000 of the innovative machines in its six-week run. To date, about 500,000 of the machines are in use worldwide, falling short of the numbers the foundation hoped to generate. This year's program marks the first time the donation program is available to people outside the US

To spur sales and donations, the OLPC group is launching a marketing campaign along with this run of the two-for-one donation scheme, and has already received donated television time, billboard space, and magazine pages from News Corp., CBS, and Time Warner, the New York Times reported.

Marketing or not, the new scheme appears to be succeeding. As of this writing, the XO is the top-selling laptop on Amazon's site. Early holiday shoppers can get one of their own and donate one to a needy child at Amazon.com/xo.