US$235 million will go to bridging the digital divide, Gates says

Microsoft will spend $235 million over the next five years to expand its educational program that includes getting more computers into classrooms to help bridge the digital divide, the company said January 22. The world’s biggest software company said it aimed to reach 270 million people with the second stage of its Partners in Learning program, three times as many as it reached with a similar investment over the last five years.

Microsoft works with governments and non-governmental organizations around the world to help put computers such as Intel’s “Classmate” laptop into schools, train teachers and influence education policy. The company says it hopes to achieve its first major milestone—reaching the next billion of the 5 billion who still have little or no access to technology—by 2015. Read more of the Reuters article.