Fiji's interim government is taking part in the 'One Laptop Per Child' (OLPC) initiative now embarking on an implementation program as part of the Pacific regional initiative meaning children even in rural areas would access the digital world. The senior staff of Fiji's Ministry of Education in consultation with representatives from relevant educational institutions and agencies is in the process of developing an implementation strategy which aims to commence and pilot selected schools by January 2010. The tiny island nation of Niue was the first country in the south Pacific region that embarked on the project that boosted networking of children with the digital world. Fiji's Ministry of Education said on Thursday it is embracing the project because it is a relatively low-cost way to have a material impact on children's education, their future and society. Interim Education Minister Filipe Bole said the OLPC opens up new opportunities to learn 'by searching out information, evaluating it and turning it into knowledge.' This will be an excellent idea considering how the islands in Fiji are scattered with some only accessed by small fishing vessels. The XO laptop is the first generation laptop from OLPC and a very low-cost, child-friendly laptop computer. 'With the OLPC approach, every child having a laptop uses the computer to learn and it will be good for Fiji's students,' he said. OPLC will contribute to the greater understanding of how Information Communication Technologies (ICTs) can improve children ' s education. One Laptop per Child (OLPC) is a non-profit organization created to design, manufacture and distribute laptop computers that are sufficiently affordable to provide every child in the world access to new channels of learning, sharing and self- expression. OLPC is focused on providing one laptop per child in developing nations in Central and South America, Africa, the Middle East and Asia with the Pacific as no exception. Emerging nations in these regions lack legacy computing systems and provide a green field for OLPC. Not too long ago, Director-General of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community, Jimmie Rodgers, announced support for the One Laptop per Child initiative for children in the region. Such an initiative, according to Rodgers, will target the regions 6 to 7 million youths in the six to 17 years age bracket. 'The One Laptop per Child Foundations mission is to stimulate local grassroots initiatives designed to enhance and sustain over time the effectiveness of XO laptops as learning tools for children living in lesser-developed countries,' he said. Rodgers said 'if we looked at the number of children across the Pacific without the opportunity to either go to school or pursue further learning something like this would provide a long-awaited solution.' He said this was an important initiative for furthering the Pacific Regional Digital Strategy as well as the Pacific Youth Strategy prioritized in the Pacific Plan. Rodgers agrees this initiative will only be possible if the region-wide internet connectivity was addressed. The XO, was previously known as the 100 U.S. dollar laptop or children's machine, gives learners opportunities they have not had before. Tools such as a web browser, rich media player, and e-book reader bring into reach domains of knowledge that are otherwise difficult or impossible for children to access. Most of the nearly 2 billion children in the developing world are inadequately educated, or receive no education at all and one in three does not complete fifth grade. The individual and societal consequences of this chronic global crisis are profound. Children are consigned to poverty and isolation just like their parents never knowing what the light of learning could mean in their lives and this initiative has brought in a ray of hope for all including Fiji. 