With the coming of Microsoft's Marketplace, Microsoft is pumping a free series of events aimed at educating developers called WinMoDevCamp.  The first will take place on August 19th in Seattle, with more to be announced in Austin, London, New York, San Francisco, and Singapore. The Seattle event will be at the Microsoft Campus in Redmond and will be followed by a party in the city.

Rather than opening the Market and tossing out an SDK, Microsoft is courting coders and showing them the ropes - hoping many will get going early and give the Marketplace a proper launch. With the Apple App Store blazing the trail and kicking up an impressive cloud of dust, MS has their work cut out for them. Still, one should never underestimate the mighty behemoth.

Check out the homepage of WinMoDevCamp and enter the Race to Market Challenge.