Userful Corporation, the manufacturer of multiseat Linux virtual desktops, resently announced a "Green Your School" giveaway in celebration of the 40th anniversary of Earth Day. Userful is giving away 10 Userful Multiplier licenses (hardware not included) to the first school in every country of the world to contact Userful and sign up to claim them with the goal of helping schools improve student-to-computer ratios, and reduce their eco footprints at the same time.

Qualifying schools will have the opportunity to try an evaluation version of the as yet unreleased Userful Multiplier V.3.8. Userful is also giving away a free-2-user version of their software for home use. In 2009 Userful's software that turns one PC into 10 saved over 200,000 tonnes of CO2, the equivalent of taking more than 35,000 cars off the road, or planting 50,000 acres of trees.

Desktop computers sit idle while we check our e-mail, surf the web, or type a document. Userful's shared resource computing software leverages this excess computing power to create an environmentally efficient alternative to traditional desktop computing. Up to 10 users can work independently on a single computer at the same time, each with their own monitor, keyboard, mouse, and applications.

"Our customers in education have made it clear that to achieve higher computer access to student ratios in the classroom, schools need more affordable computing solutions that are easy to manage and use," said Bev Gallagher, VP Strategic Partnerships at Userful. "Through our Green Your School giveaway, schools will be able to deploy extremely low-cost computers that are just that - easy to manage and use, with the added benefit of lowering their environmental footprint at the same time."