AOL to Webcast TopCoder Open 2007 Finals Live on June 29

Coverage of High Stakes Programming Competition Available Globally at http://dev.aol.com


Glastonbury, Conn. & Dulles, Va.-TopCoder, Inc., the leader in online programming competition, skills assessment and competitive software development, and AOL, a global Web services company, today announced that the 2007 TopCoder® Open (TCO07) will be webcast live at the AOL® Developer site (http://dev.aol.com) on Friday, June 29. Coverage of the TCO07 finals from the Mirage Resort in Las Vegas begins at 21:00 GMT.



The TopCoder Open 2007, sponsored by AOL, will be presented live on the Internet, bringing the excitement and drama of competitive coding at the highest level as some of the brightest programmers and designers in the world work against the clock and each other for a share of $260,000 in prizes. Algorithm, component design and development, Studio graphic design and Marathon Match championships will all be at stake during the ultimate test of computing prowess, speed and accuracy.

“It is our goal with this webcast to bring the same level of excitement and production value to the sport of programming that viewers experience with any number of major league competitions,” said Rob Hughes, President and COO of TopCoder, Inc. “These competitors are the very best in mathematics, problem solving and software development.”

More than 4,600 talented computer programmers from around the world began competing in qualifying rounds of the TCO earlier this year. Through a series of online rounds, this field has been narrowed down to 77 final competitors comprised of 48 Algorithm, 14 Component, 7 Studio, and 8 Marathon Match competitors.

On Friday, June 29, viewers will be able to visit the AOL Developer site at http://dev.aol.com/ to watch the competition unfold live starting at 21:00 GMT / 5:00pm EDT / 2:00pm PDT. Over the course of the three hour webcast, viewers will be able to watch the high stakes software competition through live views of the arena, entertaining profiles and interviews with contestants - and in-depth coverage of the final results - in real time.


“AOL is committed to being a catalyst for creativity and innovation around the Web. As a company, it is very important for us to support an event like the TopCoder Open which brings together some of the best talent in the industry,” said Balan Nair, AOL’s Chief Technology Officer.



The AOL Developer Network provides third-party developers with direct access to AOL’s technology platforms and open APIs. For more information about available open APIs, tools and documentation for services such as Open AIM®, Web AIM®, AIM® Pages, AOL® Video Search powered by Truveo®, MapQuest®, Winamp® and others, please visit http://dev.aol.com/.