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CODE
nerds now have a new arena where their programming savvy
could very well pay off. Search engine giant Google Inc.
on Wednesday opened registration for the Google Code Jam
2008. Programmers ready to use their coding skills,
creativity and ingenuity to solve a series of challenges
can register online at http://code.google.com/codejam.
This
year marks the first year the contest has regional
semifinal playoffs in over 10 countries. The top 500
contestants will win an all-expenses paid trip to the
semifinals at regional Google offices—including Sydney,
Beijing, Bangalore or Tokyo in the Asia-Pacific
region—with the top 100 code-makers advancing to the
grand final at Google’s Mountain View headquarters.
“Google
Code Jam is an incredible opportunity for the most
talented computer scientists in the world to come
together and compete on an international stage,” Google
vice president for engineering Vic Gundotra said.
“Google is proud to support these coders as they take on
some of the world’s most challenging programming
problems.”
Gundotra
said “we’re also pleased to have the chance to introduce
the best of the programming world to our offices around
the world and demonstrate the incredible diversity of
experiences that Google offers engineers worldwide.”
The
Google Code Jam will be powered this year by tools
created by a 20-percent time team that includes previous
Code Jam winners, and will allow contestants to program
in any language.
Finalists will also receive a total of over $80,000 in
prize money, with the grand prize pegged at $10,000;
$5,000 for second place’ and $2,500 for third place. The
other cash prizes are broken down thus: 4th to 10th
place-$1,500 each; 11th to 30th place-$1,000 each; 31st
to 50th place-$750 each; 51st to 75th place- $500 each
and; 76th to 100th place-$250 each.
Participants may register throughout the qualification
round, which ends on July 17.
In 2006,
over 21,000 competitors from 100 countries took part in
the Google Code Jam. Petr Mitrichev of Russia won the
grand prize. |
