HONG KONG, Aug. 23 (Xinhua) -- Hong Kong has scored one gold and three bronze medals against contestants from 78 countries all over the world at the 18th International Olympiad Informatics (IOI) 2006 held in Merida, Mexico, a spokesman for the Education and Manpower Bureau (EMB) said Wednesday.

    The four-member team includes gold medal winner Lam Chi-kit from Saint Joseph's College, bronze medal winners Chu Li-yu and Hui Yan-ting, both from La Salle College, and Yim Wing-yin from South Tuen Mun Government Secondary School.

    IOI, as one of the eight International Science Olympiads under United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), is the most recognized worldwide computer science competition aimed at secondary students under 20 years of age. This annual event was first held in 1989.

    Each country sent a team of four students to compete for the awards in this year's competition. Each student was given a range of problems and tasks during the competition week to demonstrate their problem-solving skills and programming techniques by designing and writing computer programs.

    The spokesman said the EMB and the Hong Kong Association for Computer Education has jointly organized the Hong Kong Olympiad Informatics (HKOI) since 1997. Outstanding winners from HKOI are selected as Hong Kong representatives every year to enter IOI. Enditem