Children in many of the world’s poorest countries will soon learn to type, play and search the Web with the help of an innovative green machine — if Nicholas Negroponte of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology has his way.

Negroponte first announced his intent to distribute small, green laptops to children around the world in Jan. 2005. The computers are designed to be rugged, portable and theft-resistant. Since many of the areas where Negroponte would like the laptops to be distributed don’t have reliable electricity, the laptop will have a hand-crank mounted on the side to provide power.

“Children are the greatest natural resource of any country, and educating these children is at the root of solving our largest and most complex problems. Yet, the best education may not come from sitting in a traditional classroom, but rather through independent interaction and exploration,” Negroponte said.

Responding to the question of why community access centers, like public libraries, aren’t sufficient for children’s computing needs, Negroponte said, “One does not think of community pencils — kids have their own. They are tools to think with, sufficiently inexpensive to be used for work and play, drawing, writing and mathematics. A computer can be the same, but far more powerful.”

In performance, these laptops will differ very little from others.

“The plan is for the $100 laptop to do almost everything. What it will not do is store a massive amount of data,” Negroponte said.

The laptops cost about $100 to produce, thanks to several cost-saving measures such as using the free Linux operating system.

Children receiving the laptops will not have to pay for them. Governments of the countries where the laptops will be distributed are working to pay for large orders. And large companies like Google and News Corp. are also contributing expertise and financial aid.

Several countries have expressed interest in the computers, and Mass. Governor Mitt Romney announced that he wants his state to purchase laptops for all of its children.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Anan praised the initiative, “Children will be able to learn by doing, not just through instruction or rote memorization. And they will be able to open a new front in their education: peer-to-peer learning.”

The laptops will connect to the wireless Internet and each other, enabling students to help teach each other on the computers.

Production of the laptops is scheduled to begin roughly a year from now.