"Partnering with corporate houses might help us achieve greater penetration. We are looking forward to two more schools in Goa coming on board."

The OLPC programme was first unveiled at the World Summit on Information Society (WSIS) in Tunisia in 2005.

"The XO has features that make it suitable for children to use. It consumes power frugally, can withstand rough use and be used in hot and dusty environments," Bender said.

The white-and-green laptops made for Indian children have an added feature -- the Devnagri script. Once the child is able to use the laptop, he or she can start operating it in Hindi.

During Bender's visit, some children at the school had composed a piece of music and strung together an animated dance to show him. They could also explore e-books, and those fond of mathematics could play with numbers.

"By repeating a combination of commands, the children could also make complex drawing patterns."

This is a programme that is supported by researchers at the Homi Bhabha Centre for Science Education (HBCSE), under the aegis of the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research (TIFR).

Professor G. Nagarjuna and other research scholars who run a knowledge lab within the facility make weekly visits to the village and engage with the teachers and students to aid learning and help make full use of the potential offered by the XO laptop.