Intel's Classmate registering in Europe and US

More low-cost laptops are headed to a retailer near you.

Intel plans on expanding the distribution of its inexpensive, school children-friendly Classmate PC to US and European retail outlets, according to a Reuters report.

The Classmate will sell for $250 to $350, Lila Ibrahim, general manager of Intel's emerging market platform group said. Apparently, Intel has already been conducting pilot programs using the devices in classrooms in Australia and the US.

Though the Classmate is already available on the retail markets of India, Indonesia and Mexico this will be the first time the device has been for sale to consumers in the developed world.

Intel designed the PC for use in schools in developing nations. Local manufacturers build them with customised software configurations for the needs of specific local markets.

The XO laptop from the One Laptop Per Child initiative, which also builds low-cost laptops for the same markets, has been available via retail in the US for a while. OLPC had a promotion where consumers in the US paid $400, which bought one XO for them and one for a school child in the developing world.

But others are also jumping into this fray. Asus launched its low-cost, stripped-down Linux-based Eee PC last fall specifically for the European, Japanese and US retail markets, and caused quite the stir. It sold 350,000 units in the first quarter it was available.