Friday, December 9 2005 18:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Bangalore: Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates today (Dec 09, 2005) launched a nation-wide talent hunt in India that is seen as a 'catch them young' initiative to generate interest in students on Microsoft technologies.

Gates announced at a huge gathering of software developers and professionals here that top 20 winners of the contest 'Code 4 Bill' would intern at Microsoft India and the topper among them will join his Technical Assistants' team for a year.

According to Microsoft, India is the first country where students "get this opportunity to learn cutting edge product development and innovations that are powering the world by working directly with Microsoft's Product Development & Research teams".

Praising India's technical prowess, Gates said, "Talent is what powers the success of the global IT economy today. Indian students are setting high standards in the industry. It's very important for India to maintain this edge, and continue to nurture and develop students so they can drive India's progress as an IT leader".

Microsoft said the hunt is to identify India's best student technologists, and the contest recognises India's leadership in nurturing world-class technical talent and is aimed at pre-final and final year students pursuing various technical streams across India.

According to the company, registrations for Code 4 Bill will commence next month, and the contest shall comprise various stages over the next eight months. "It will test technical and analytical skills through different challenges including in-depth face to face interviews with technical teams".