Imagine Cup 2009 Kicks Off in Cairo

CAIRO, July 4 /PRNewswire-AsiaNet/ –

Global finals of the world’s largest technology competition begin today in
Egypt.

Competition begins today in Cairo for 444 students from 124 countries and
regions at the Imagine Cup 2009 Worldwide Finals. Now in its seventh year,
Imagine Cup is an annual Microsoft Corp. competition that challenges students
around the globe to use their creative genius to build technology solutions
that can help address some of the world’s toughest challenges.

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This year, the students’ efforts are focused on using technology to help
address the United Nations Millennium Development Goals. These goals encompass
some of the most difficult issues facing our world, ranging from halving
extreme poverty and halting the spread of HIV/AIDS to providing universal
primary education. The Imagine Cup calls on young programmers, artists and
technologists to rise to this challenge: "Imagine a world where technology
helps solve the toughest problems facing us today."

More than 300,000 students from 100 countries accepted this challenge and
registered for Imagine Cup 2009. Over the past year, students have participated
in local, regional and online competitions, showcasing their innovative
solutions to real-world problems. The winners of these initial rounds arrive in
Cairo today, where they will present their entries to a panel of judges from
academia and the technology industry. At stake is more than $288,000 in prize
money and the chance to kick-start their careers in one of several
technological fields.

"By providing students with cutting-edge technology and challenging them to
address some of our world’s most challenging issues, the Microsoft Imagine Cup
is tapping an incredible and limitless resource — the passion, creativity and
talents of students from around the globe," said Ray Ozzie, chief software
architect at Microsoft.

Student teams compete in the Imagine Cup 2009 Worldwide Finals across nine
categories: Software Design, Embedded Development, Game Development, IT
Challenge, Robotics and Algorithm, MashUp, Photography, Short Film and Design.
The winners will be announced on Tuesday, July 7, as part of the Imagine Cup
World Festival closing ceremonies with the pyramids at Giza as the backdrop.

"Students around the world are contributing their creativity and passion in
this year’s Imagine Cup, and they have developed truly amazing solutions to
tackle the most pressing social problems facing our world," said Joe Wilson,
senior director of Academic Initiatives in the Developer & Platform Evangelism
Division at Microsoft. "It’s clear that the leaders of tomorrow’s most
innovative companies won’t be found in boardrooms — they will be discovered in
dorm rooms."

In addition to the nine main categories of competition, there are several
Achievement Awards this year, including the Interoperability Award, Unlimited
Potential Design for Development Award, Accessibility Award, Unlimited
Potential MultiPoint Education Award, Parallel Computing Award, Tablet
Accessibility Award and the H.E. Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak Special Award sponsored
by the first lady of Egypt through the Cyber Peace Initiative (CPI).

Imagine Cup Sponsors
The Imagine Cup is being supported by a range of partner organizations
including Paramount Digital Entertainment, Mesh Services & Live Framework,
Microsoft Accessibility Business Unit, Microsoft Education Product Group,
Microsoft Interoperability, Microsoft Learning, Microsoft Research External
Research, Microsoft Parallel Computing Platform, Microsoft Robotics, Microsoft
Unlimited Potential Group, Windows Embedded Business, Windows Mobile and
Microsoft XNA Game Platform Group.

More information on the Imagine Cup is available online at
http://www.imaginecup.com. More information on the United Nations Millennium
Development Goals can be found online at http://www.un.org/millenniumgoals.
Up-to-date information on the finals competition is available at the official
Imagine Cup blog.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in
software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their
full potential.

SOURCE: Microsoft Corp

CONTACT: Rapid Response Team
Waggener Edstrom Worldwide
+1-503-443-7070
rrt@waggeneredstrom.com

for Microsoft Corp

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