Microsoft is a company renowned for its philosophy of giving, and the latest initiative under the Unlimited Potential brand umbrella is an illustrative example of the efforts poured into philanthropic endeavors. The term "effort" is not misplaced, as the Redmond giant's Team Unlimited Potential has committed to running in the RacingThePlanet's "Gobi March." The Microsoft team has been training in the Mojave Desert for a seven-day endurance race that will take them across 250 kilometers in China's Gobi Desert.

The race is scheduled to take place at the beginning of the coming month, and the Redmond company has sent some of its very best to take on the challenge, including Orlando Ayala, the Senior Vice President of Microsoft's Unlimited Potential Group; William Calarese, International PR Director Microsoft Unlimited Potential; and Debby Fry Wilson, director of the Microsoft Security Response Center, and also leader of Microsoft's Unlimited Potential team.

"We wanted to put our hearts and souls into this part of China, promote volunteerism, and show our personal commitment to this initiative. We also wanted this to be a team experience that involved a diverse group of people with different strengths, from a senior vice president to a program manager," Fry Wilson explained.

According to Microsoft, the role of the Unlimited Potential team will be to raise funds for the victims of the Myanmar Cyclone, as well as for those of the Sichuan earthquake via Save the Children. In addition, the race teams will donate books to schools in the areas around Kashgar, while Microsoft will focus on providing the first taste of access to technology to the rural communities in the region.

"In the short term, we will donate money to support the government's emergency rescue efforts, and on longer term, we are ready to donate PCs and technology classrooms, provide training and support the government's reconstruction plan," explained Chang, the General Manager of Microsoft's Public Sector Group for the Greater China Region.