In a bid to improve computer skills among young people, schoolchildren are being offered a cash prize for showcasing their programming prowess using Raspberry Pi. The competition, which is being run by that created the credit card-sized chipboard, is offering a prize of $1,000 (£645) will be given to the child and teenager who have written the best software.
It has been confirmed that while the competition will initially run for a month, it will soon become a weekly event. There are two separate age categories - 13-and-under, and 14-to-18 - with the five runners-up set to receive $200.
"These are the first steps in the foundation's plan to return the bulk of the profit from selling units to young people in the form of prizes and other incentives," explained Eben Upton, the executive director of the firm behind the successful Raspberry Pi concept.
"The aim of the contest is simply to produce a software Application, which runs on the Raspberry Pi computer and which impresses the Judges," added Mr Upton, a founder and trustee of the foundation. "The Each Entry consists of an Entry Form and an archive file containing all source code, binaries and data for the application."
In May, the firm behind Raspberry Pi confirmed that the computer will launch a plug-in camera module for the pocked-sized PC in the next few months.
Launched earlier in 2012, the first edition of the device has already proven to be popular in schools throughout the UK. Long-term, it is hoped that Raspberry Pi will ignite interest in computer engineering and encourage young people to pursue careers in information computer technology.