We’ve all heard of the One Laptop Per Child project, the goal of which is to equip youngsters around the globe with a low-cost learning tool and access point to the Internet. Originally conceived as a computer engineering challenge, the much-vaunted $100 price point per unit overshot a bit to $188, giving the program a bit of a black eye.

To bounce back, OLPC has launched a unique marketing initiative, dubbed “Give 1 Get 1″: Starting November 12th, you can buy two of the little green XO Laptop-ettes for $399 (tax-deductable), sending one into the waiting hands of an underprivileged youth while the other comes to your doorstep.

Am I intrigued? Yes. I’m thinking I’ll be ponying up for this program in two months. A desire to do some good merges with my financial requirements (as an independent contractor, I need to be on the lookout for deductions) and my techie curiosity. It’s really a genius way for OLPC to prompt a large group who otherwise wouldn’t bother participating.

I do have some misgivings. I’ve heard about the dubiousness of the one-size-fits-all model — just because the laptops are successful in Cambodia doesn’t mean they’ll take off in Angola. And the potential unintended consequences of increased malware coming from this mass computerization is something to consider. On balance, I think the positive possibilities are worth the risks.

As I suggested, I’d likely keep the extra XO Laptop for my own tinkering. I’ve got an aunt and uncle who probably need to get connected to the Web, and a dead-simple computer interface would be the only way it would happen; but that’s a remote backup plan.