The world's largest software company, Microsoft Corp., has announced its largest philanthropic program to date: the $100 million "Club Tech" effort to help close the digital divide in partnership with Boys & Girls Clubs of America.

Club Tech will help the 3.3 million underprivileged young people served by Boys & Girls Clubs get online access and learn other technology skills. The $100 million effort will fund a tech center in every one of the Boys & Girls Clubs locations nationwide within the next five years.

The Microsoft gift consists of $12.3 million in cash and $87.7 million in software. The tech centers will feature computer hardware, software, Internet access, program materials and trained staff, Reuters News Service reports.

"The relationship between Microsoft and Boys & Girls Clubs will make a significant and measurable impact on our nation's ability to provide a 'level playing field' in technology for millions of young people who need it most," said Boys & Girls Clubs of America President Roxanne Spillett.

Fewer than one-third of single-parent American households have a computer, the news service reports.

The Boys & Girls Clubs organization, which traces its history back to 1860, has 2,591 locations -- in all 50 states, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands, and on domestic and international military bases. The organization also has an estimated 11,000 full-time staff members and 40,000 part-timers.

Microsoft, through its Community Affairs Program, gave more than $34.3 million in cash and $200 million in software to nearly 5,000 nonprofit groups last year.

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