The organisers behind a project to make the Linux operating system work on Microsoft's Xbox game console have announced that an anonymous donor has volunteered to give US$200,000 to programmers who can complete the task by the end of this year.
The move highlights the growing enthusiasm among amateur programmers for working on the US$200 machine Microsoft introduced late last year.
However, it is not an enthusiasm that Microsoft endorses or encourages, though the programmers claim what they are doing is completely legal under the reverse engineering clauses of laws such as the United States' Digital Millennium Copyright Act.
The Xbox is sold officially in the US, Europe, Japan and Australia. Grey-market versions are also available in Hong Kong and other Asian markets, and Microsoft spokesman Olivier Richard said more details on selling Xbox in these markets would be available in the coming weeks.
The lure of the Xbox for hackers is its powerful hardware, which includes a 733 megahertz Intel chip, graphics card, hard drive, DVD player and support for broadband Internet.
Microsoft has bundled these together and sold at a loss, hoping to recoup its investment through packaged games and online subscriptions.
