Educomp Solutions limited and Zeebo Inc today announced the proposed formation of a new joint venture in India and shared their plans to introduce a version of Zeebo’s 3G connected education and entertainment system specifically for the Indian market in 2011.

Zeebo India will be a joint venture of Zeebo Inc a Qualcomm funded company, Educomp Solutions Limited (Educomp) a leading education company and content development studio Lakshya Digital Interactive. Together the three companies will tailor Zeebo’s technology and develop relevant content for use by Indian school going children both at home and in the classroom.

This partnership will enable us to provide a wide variety of new content and services for education distance learning and interaction among Indian children parents and teachers said John F.Rizzo president and CEO Zeebo Inc, Access to such content and capabilities has been very limited in India because of the lack of a suitable platform and content delivery mechanism.”

Rizzo added, “The Zeebo system provides a new and better solution – an affordable low maintenance education oriented platform with the ability to easily download content via 3G wireless networks. Broadband 3G coverage is proliferating rapidly in India creating new avenues to enhance the academic experience for students.”

Connected to any TV the Zeebo will provide Indian children with access to a wide array of digital content including Educomp’s rich multimedia educational content library. The System will also provide internet connectivity, email, downloadable family oriented games and the ability to connect with friends, family and teachers. These capabilities will enable new forms of interaction among children, parents and teachers, including community building online real time assessment, distance learning and much more. In addition to developing its own content for the Zeebo system, Zeebo India is working closely with Indian publishers and developers to spur the creation of third party content and applications designed specifically for the Indian market.

Education is a major focus throughout India and is essential to the country’s continued economic growth,” said Shantanu Prakash, CEO of Educomp. “We are proud to work with Zeebo to offer an entirely new family friendly option for instructional technology. Educomp serves more than 26,000 schools and 15 million students in India and other Asian countries by bringing Zeebo to Indian children both at school and at home, we will deliver unprecedented access to new more robust and innovative educational opportunities.”

Dib Chaudhuri co founder and president of Lakshya Digital will join Zeebo India and will lead Zeebo’s efforts there. “The demand from children in India for services such as interactive education content fun learning games, digital entertainment content and Internet connectivity is enormous and growing every day,” said Chaudhuri. “Zeebo provides children with a leading edge and accessible platform for interacting with that content. Whether children are looking to learn connect or play, Zeebo will offer it all for homes and schools throughout India.”

“We are very excited about this new initiative said Karthee Madasamy managing director of Qualcomm Ventures in India, which is backing Zeebo’s efforts.” Zeebo India’s strategic vision reflects Qualcomm’s strong commitment to bringing innovative and beneficial technologies to emerging markets such as India.”

The announcement of the Zeebo India joint venture follows closely on Zeebo’s formation of Zeebo China (Zeebo Shanghai Information Technology Co Ltd) which is working to bring Zeebo’s technology to Chinese consumers.