BRAZIL:THE BRAZILIAN government has joined forces with two IT companies to provide low-cost computer access to millions of schoolchildren in the world's largest ever desktop Linux deployment.

Over 350,000 PCs are being supplied to schools through the country at a cost of less than $50 (€39) per seat. If successful, the initiative should be of interest to education ministries around the world.

The project is being spearheaded by Userful, a Canadian company specialising in multi-station Linux computing, and ThinNetworks, which will produce the hardware. The technology allows standard PCs to support up to 10 simultaneous monitors, keyboards and users, and manages them all at once through a central website.

Desktop computers sit idle while we check our e-mail, surf the web or type a document. The PC-sharing and virtualisation technology used here leverages this unused computing power to create an environmentally efficient alternative to traditional desktop computing. Up to 10 users can work on one computer by attaching extra monitors, mice and keyboards.

The hardware for the project, developed and manufactured by ThinNetworks, is designed to work reliably in harsh conditions with little supporting infrastructure. According to the company the solution has been successfully deployed in schools in indigenous villages, where infrastructure is minimal, electricity is unreliable and there is little physical space.

Another interesting aspect of this initiative is its environmental impact in comparison to traditional computing. Userful says it will save more than 170,000 tons of CO2 emissions annually.

It is anticipated that the project will have benefited millions of young Brazilians by the end of 2009.