Microsoft Windows operating system will soon be available on One Laptop Per Child (OLPC) XO laptops.

OLPC aims to distribute a laptop to provide every child in the world access to knowledge. Previously only running Linux, the XO laptop will soon allow users to choose the best operating environment to suit their requirement.

“Windows support on the XO device means that our students and educators will now have access to more than computer-assisted learning experiences,” said Andres Gonzalez Diaz, governor of Colombian state Cundinamarca. “They will also develop marketable technology skills, which can lead to jobs and opportunities for our youth of today and the work force of tomorrow,” he added.

Trials of the XO running Windows are planned to begin this June. The new partnership with OLPC will add to Microsoft’s Unlimited Potential–Community Technology Skills Program. This is described on the Microsoft web as “a global effort that promotes workforce development and IT skills training programs in underserved communities”.

The partnership follows the breakdown of a relationship OLPC had with Intel. According to Intel, it had to drop its support for the OLPC initiative because OLPC founder Nicholas Negroponte had demanded the end of Intel’s supply of the Classmate PC. But OLPC said the differences between the two organisations were that “we view the children as a mission; Intel views them as a market.”