Nigerian education selects Mandriva Linux

Paris, October 30th, 2007 - For Immediate Release
____________________________________________________________________

Mandriva today announced that the Nigerian government has selected
Intel-powered classmate PCs running on Mandriva Linux for educational
use in nationwide pilot in Nigeria. Mandriva is working with Intel
Corporation and Technology Support Center Ltd. to provide 17,000
Intel-powered classmate PC. The aim of this project is to improve the
quality of technology delivered to students, and to help teachers and
parents.

The Intel-powered classmate PC is a small, rugged, mobile educational
solution specially designed for primary students in emerging
markets. Shipped in May this year, this fully functional PC is
currently being piloted in more than 25 countries around the
world. Nigeria was one of the first countries to run pilots of
Intel-powered classmate PCs in their schools.

Nigerian government's decision to choose Mandriva Linux to run on
classmate PCs reaffirmed Mandriva Linux as one of the most popular
Linux distributions in the world. Mandriva's emerging market strategy
is based around a network of local partners and OEM agreements with
hardware providers. Mandriva has been working with Intel on classmate
PCs since the very beginning, making Mandriva Linux one of the first
operating systems to run on the machine. The classmate PCs provided to
Nigeria will run a customized version of Mandriva Linux 2007 built on
Mandriva Flash technology. This edition has been tailored to classmate
PCs hardware with a unique launcher application which makes it easier
to access the most commonly needed applications.

"We are delighted to participate in this project along with our
partners, and to help bring Mandriva Linux and open source
applications to Nigeria. This operation validates our approach of
cooperating with Intel on the classmate PC and of leveraging our local
presence in a country such as Nigeria," said David Barth, CTO and Vice
President of the Consumer Business Unit for Mandriva.

The Intel-powered classmate PC will be used in local Nigerian schools
by teachers, parents and students. Students will use them to learn
about IT technology and to assist them with class research. Teachers
will use them to improve their computing skills and to help them track
students and projects.

"Based on the needs of the community, the Intel-powered classmate PC
will assist a communities that have been previously underserved. The
classmate PC's features for teachers and parents will also help them
focus on education," said Dele Ajisomo, President of Mandriva West
Africa.

Intel-powered classmate PCs use a low power Intel processor for good
performance and battery life. These mobile PCs feature a 2 GB of
internal flash storage, WiFi mobile technology, as well as anti-theft
applications, classroom management and a content filter.  These mobile
PCs are designed to deliver the right performance to support essential
learning applications and experiences.

"The TSC is proud to open the doors of Technology Enabled Learning and
to be part of the team enhancing the quality of education delivery in
Nigeria. The Technology Support Center and Mandriva working together
provide high quality open source solutions to facilitate technology
adoption, knowledge based economic empowerment, technology diffusion
in some of the most remote and underserved areas of Africa", said
Nyimbi Odero, CEO Technology Support Center .


-- About Mandriva 

Mandriva, formerly known as Mandrakesoft, is the publisher of Mandriva
Linux, the innovative and easy-to-use operating system. It is one of
the most popular Linux editions in the world. Mandriva is dedicated to
making open source technologies accessible to all users, and offers a
full range of products and services to individuals, enterprises and
government organizations. Mandriva products are available online in 80
languages and in more than 140 countries through dedicated
channels.Headquartered in Paris, France, the company is publicly
traded on the Euronext Marche Libre. More information at
http://www.mandriva.com.


-- About Technology Support Center, Ltd.

The Technology Support Center is a technology diffusion company
focused on providing feature complete solutions to some of the most
challenging problems facing Africa. A regional leader in the design,
development, implementation and support of computing, pedagogical and
healthcare solutions in rural africa.  
More information on the Classmate PC is available 
at http://www.Classmatepc.com.

-- Press Contacts

Vanessa Wall - vwall@mandriva.com - +33 (0)1 40 41 97 29 
Caroline Garlatti - cgarlatti@mandriva.com - +33 (0)1 40 41 67 67

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