Nicholas Negroponte has a vision. He believes the laptop computer is ready to reach across cultural, social and geographical boundaries to educate not just those who can afford one, but also those who can not. But as Negroponte himself says: "It's an education project. Not a laptop project."

Negroponte's One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) association, founded in 2005, has developed a $100 laptop with the aim of providing children from all corners of the world the chance to "explore, experiment and express themselves."

OLPC see the laptop as being a window on the world as well as a tool with which to think. They enable children to independently explore the world, to discover for themselves and to learn about themselves.

The laptop runs on very low power (two watts instead of the usual 30 watts), has a 7.5" dual mode TFT display, and works with open source software.

Negroponte hopes that giving all children across the globe access to the world of computers will bolster their learning opportunities, as well as helping to "make a far more creative society. Not to mention a chance to eliminate world poverty and create world peace."

Time will tell if that will happen, but the OLPC association certainly seems a bold step in the right direction.