Low Cost PC for India

The Microsoft Corporation on Wednesday said it will sell low-cost personal computers with educational content in partnership with local hardware and software vendors, to reach out to the large number of Indians who have no access to computers.

Just two of every 100 Indians own a personal computer and as incomes in the country rise in tandem with an economy that has grown over 8% in the past four years, analysts expect the number of computer owners in India to more than double by 2011.

The personal computer priced at about $525 (about INR21,000) has educational content such as school curriculum up to the 12th grade, entertainment content like animation stories, tutorials for competitive exams and for spoken English.

Since most people buy computers to support their children's education, Microsoft's new program aims to make the computer relevant and accessible for students to help them do better in school.

Microsoft has partnered with PC vendors Zenith Computers Ltd. and Wipro Ltd. content providers and component providers like Advanced Micro Devices Inc. for supplying processors.