The corporates are often engaged in corporate social responsibility and charity programs. This case discusses the venture of Intel in providing laptops to Third World countries. In the process, Intel also had a tussle with the One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) project. Olpc is a nonprofit project that was conceived by Professor Nicholas Negroponte of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) that aimed at selling energy efficient computers at $100 to Third World countries. The case studies the tussle between the two and questions the Intel initiative whether it is charity or business?

One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) is a nonprofit project conceived by Professor Nicholas Negroponte of Massachusetts Institute of Technology's (MIT). It aims at selling energy efficient computers at $100 to Third World countries. In the beginning, the project sounded like an utopian dream. However, Intel soon gauged potential in the Third World countries. Intel would head a project for the Third World by launching World Ahead, a global program that projected an investment of $1 bn from 2007 to 2012 to promote computer training and internet use in developing countries. Eventually, Intel joined hands with OLPC for this project. The association did not last as Nicholas Negroponte of OLPC suggested that Intel not approach markets that OLPC had already approached. This created a rift in the association and presently OLPC and Intel stand in competition with each other.

Intel planned to enter the untapped market of the Third World countries in a big way. The Santa Clara, Californian-based company unveiled its five-year project plan, World Ahead which included extending broadband access to one billion users and training 10 million teachers on the use of technology in education. An integral part of the program is the development of $400 personal computer, called `Classmate' that will run on Microsoft Windows or the Linux operating system. The World Ahead program will also push adoption of WiMax wireless technology that allows high throughput broadband connections over long distances. Eddie Chan, lead analyst on mobile computing at IDC Canada, a Toronto-based research consultancy, says that computer markets in Japan, US and Western Europe are mature, registering only a modest 12% growth in 2005 compared to 24.5% for the same period by the so-called BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China) regions. "Intel will allow local businesses to build the units and ensure they can be serviced by technicians in the area." Intel will be reinforcing training by enhancing teacher's skills, improving connectivity and creating technology best suited for the particular regions and helping businesses in those regions too. Intel has also established an advisory board of NGOs to guide the company with its World Ahead program. The low cost laptop is called the Classmate. The Classmate would feature a 7 inch screen, Celeron M Mobile Processor, 256 MB of RAM, and 2 GB of flash memory for storage.

One Laptop Per Child, OLPC, Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, Intel processors, 4004 Microcomputer, Microsoft Windows, WiMax Wireless Technology, Innovative Technologies, Online Resources, Information Technology, Human Resource Development, Digital Empowerment Foundation, Information and Communication Technologies, ICTs, Flash Memory.