IBM Announces First of Its Kind Cell Broadband Engine Contest for Students Across the Globe

From Inspiration to Innovation, With Cash Prizes for Winners

ARMONK, NY - 05 Feb 2007: IBM (NYSE: IBM) today announced a first of its kind programming contest for college and university students in 25 different countries, offering cash prizes and awards for the most innovative applications of the breakthrough Cell Broadband Engine™ (Cell/B.E.).

By working directly with the Cell/B.E., students will be getting hands-on experience with cutting edge technology as well as building tangible, multi-disciplinary skills that will give them a competitive edge as they enter the workforce. Participants will need to demonstrate their mastery of the theoretical and practical uses of Cell/B.E. technologies to rise to the top, as they complete an online quiz testing their knowledge of Cell/B.E. trivia, and then develop an innovative software program based on the technology.

“In today’s global economy, the ability to apply advanced technology, engineering and business thinking in equal parts is a prerequisite for success,” said Nick Donofrio, IBM Executive Vice President, Innovation and Technology. “This contest gives students a unique opportunity to take the technology underpinnings of the Cell Broadband Engine and then imagine what is possible given their own skills and interests. They are the earliest adopters of these advanced technologies and in the best position to see new opportunities to take full advantage of its capabilities. I can’t wait to see the results.”

College or university students interested in participating in the Cell/B.E. University Challenge ’07 can log on to the Web site provided and click on the ’Participate’ tab. There, users will be able to review the rules, frequently asked questions, and download the application to submit an entry to two contests: a trivia contest (called Challenge 1) and the cash prize challenge (called Challenge 2).

Winners of the Challenge 2 will be chosen by a panel comprising academic and IBM technical experts, and will receive cash prizes ranging from $10,000 for the first-place winner to $2,500 for the fourth-place winner. Winners will be chosen from two worldwide regions with identical prizes awarded in each region. (1) The winners are slated to be announced later in the year.

Challenge 1 winners will be chosen in order of entries received with the correct answers.

A total of 25 countries are invited to participate in the Cell/B.E. University Challenge ’07. Those countries include:

* North America and Latin America: Brazil, Canada (excluding Quebec), and U.S.A
* Europe and Asia Pacific: Belgium, Czech Republic, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, India, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Norway, Romania, Russia, Spain, South Africa, Turkey, U.A.E., and United Kingdom.

All information on eligibility, rules and requirements, and entry applications for both Challenges can be found at: www-304.ibm.com/jct09002c/university/students/contests/cell/index.html

About the Cell Broadband Engine™

The revolutionary microprocessor, developed by IBM, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. and Sony Corporation (Sony Group) and Toshiba Corporation, is a breakthrough chip design featuring eight synergistic processors, and a central processing core based on IBM’s industry leading Power Architecture™ technology. Cell/B.E. “supercharges” the graphics-intensive applications that will define a new generation of visual entertainment -- offering blindingly fast performance for games and handhelds, virtual-reality, wireless downloads, real-time video chat, interactive TV shows and other “image-hungry” computing environments.

A team of computer scientists from IBM, Sony Group and Toshiba has collaborated on the development of the Cell/B.E. at a joint design center established in Austin, Texas, since March 2001.

The contest will be hosted by IBM, with support from SCE and Toshiba.

About IBM

For more information about IBM, please visit http://www.ibm.com.

1 (1) Restrictions and local laws on prizes might apply in certain countries, in which case, merchandise amounting to the approximately the same will be awarded (Visit the contest website for additional details).

IBM, Power Architecture are trademarks of IBM Corporation in the United States and/or other countries.

“PLAYSTATION” is a registered trademark and “Cell Broadband Engine” is a trademark of Sony Computer Entertainment, Inc.

Other company, product or service names may be trademarks or service marks of others.

Contact Information

Charles Zinkowski

IBM Global Media Relations

IBM

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