Thanks to the ever-vigilant Pablo Mancini, we now have word on One laptop Per Child's progress in Argentina. There, Nicholas Negroponte met with Argentinean President, Néstor Kirchner, Minister of Education, Science and Technology, Daniel Filmus and the head of Cabinet, Alberto Fernández on November 22.

As a result, the Ministerio de Educación, Ciencia y Tecnología has announced (via a Google translation):

Argentina anticipates to have 50 units for demonstration in next the 15 days and that before year end can be counted on 500 prototypes to make a experience pilot.

The project is evaluated by a joint commission headed by Adrián Paenza and composed by a technical committee in charge of the Faculty of Exact Sciences of the UBA, a pedagogical committee to position the Secretariat of Education of the national educative portfolio and a logistic committee in charge of the Educ.ar vestibule.

After finalized the evaluation process, the National Government contemplates the possibility of signing an agreement with the OLPC at the beginning of 2007 for the implementation of the project. Of that way, Argentina would be one of the five countries - the only one of Hispanic speech - that will start up the initiative.

Before you get your hopes up, that all Argentinean students will be using a live Children's Machine XO, and not just emulating the OLPC Sugar UI, do note that $140, $208, $972 dollar laptops will not be available until mid-2007 at the earliest. Nicholas Negroponte explains the OLPC Argentina timeline on the Argentinean Presidential website (via a Google translation):

The point that it wanted to emphasize is that these machines finish leaving the production, the week that comes Argentina goes to be receiving a shipment of similar machines to put them on approval.

Later we are going to work with EDUCAR to have a test and later to happen to a software redesign, during a stage of three months, would send the pilot, and later we would happen to a total launching arrived the summer [of 2007].

Maybe by then, OLPC will have a comprehensive implementation plan, and not have to rely on Negroponte's implementation miracle.