Google has officially opened its 2008 Code Jam programming competition.

The contest pits developers against the clock to solve a number of algorithmic coding problems.

Contestants advance in the competition by solving the coding challenges before time runs out.

"Google Code Jam is an incredible opportunity for the most talented computer scientists in the world to come together and compete on an international stage, " said Vic Gundotra, vice president of engineering at Google.

"Google is proud to support these coders as they take on some of the world's most challenging programming problems."

Registration for the competition will be open until 17 July, and Google is dividing the competition into three different stages.

Contestants will compete online in a number of 'sub-rounds' from 25 July until 2 August.

The top 500 will be flown to one of Google's regional offices to compete in a second 'local onsite' round between 22 August and 6 September.

The contest will conclude on 14 November, when 100 finalists will be flown to Google's Silicon Valley headquarters to compete in the finals.

Awards range from a $10,000 grand prize to $250 prizes for 25 runners-up.