A robust, simple laptop that will cost just $100 - about £60 - aimed at helping schoolchildren in the developing world enter the internet age, has been launched at the World Summit on the Internet Society here, with the innovator behind it calling on manufacturers around the globe to "steal" his idea.

At the launch, Kofi Annan, the UN secretary-general, called it an "inspiring, impressive technical achievement", adding that he hoped the device would spark economic and social development among poorer nations of the world.

The device is intended to be a computer, e-book, games console and TV all in one, and its promoter, MIT Lab chairman Nicholas Negroponte, evangelised about a production run of millions within just one year. The hope is that it will be given away free to school children by governments through the national education system.

The laptop itself is about two-thirds normal size and will contain a 500MHz processor (about half the processing power of most modern laptops), plus contain Flash memory rather than a normal, moving hard drive, to make it more durable. A crank on the side can be used to power it in low-power mode, with Mr Negroponte claiming that one minute of cranking will provide 30 minutes of use.

Wireless technology will let the machine connect to the internet and four USB ports will link it to a variety of other devices. A specially designed display will use LEDs rather than the traditional backlight, saving on power. And open-source software will provide the operating system and applications.

Despite grand predictions when Mr Negroponte first announced the laptop earlier this year, however, he confirmed that there were still no manufacturing contracts and only the basic working prototype had been created so far.

Mr Negroponte insisted nonetheless that talks with a number of African countries were going well. And he named Google and Rupert Murdoch, chairman and chief executive of News Corporation, parent company of Times Online, as ongoing supporters of the scheme.

Most crucial to the laptop’s development will be veteran computing engineer Alan Kay - a key figure in the internet's creation and the origins of the laptop itself. Mr Kay developed the device and said he hoped it would act as a basic foundation for a much larger system. "Steal it," he exclaimed. "It would be my dream come true if someone was to take it and sell it cheaper."

Mr Negroponte was equally passionate. "I have the rest of my life to do this. And if I have to, I will spend the rest of my life doing it," he said.

Elsewhere at the conference, the UK picked up no less than four awards. The trade secretary, Alun Michael, was there to pick up the Government’s award for Direct.gov.uk and told us afterwards that the key to the project’s success - which is still in its early stages - was that it was simple to use and did not insist on people understanding governmental structures.

The National Theatre won an e-learning award for its Stagework.org.uk website, which follows the creative process of staging a play from an idea through to the performance. BBC Radio 1 won an e-entertainment award for its OneMusic website which showcases demo recordings and lets would-be musicians interact with one another.

And Capefarewell.com won an e-science award for its creative take on global warming, where scientists, educators and artists report on the first-hand impact of global warming on different parts of the world.

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