Microsoft and Code.org have come together to debut Minecraft Designer, a free tutorial for students aged 6 and up that uses the Minecraft environment to teach coding.

On Monday, Microsoft announced a partnership with Code.org that will teach kids (and adults) the basics of computer science in an hour using Minecraft -themed lessons.

With the immense popularity of "Minecraft" around the world, Microsoft and Code.org believe the tutorial has the potential to reach people of all ages and likeness.

But Partovi said the Code.org version won't ruin the magic of actual Minecraft, which last year surpassed 100 million registered users — about as many as have participated in the Hour of Code.

Microsoft announced the next effort in a series of educational Minecraft products today: the Minecraft Hour of Code Designer, a free tutorial co-developed by Code.org that teaches students as ...

To help lower the barrier to entry in learning how to code, Microsoft has teamed up with Code.org to offer kid friendly coding tutorials using the medium of the popular block-building game, Minecraft.

Microsoft wants to turn kids' love of Minecraft into a love of computer programming through a partnership with Code.org, announced on Monday morning.