If you have a hankering to attend college and a knack for computers, this program may be for you. The U.S. government has announced a plan to pay college fees – as much as $25,000 per year – in exchange for government service in the area of cybersecurity.

The college grants will be administered by the National Science Foundation and are part of a program created by the Clinton administration to populate the government with a "Cyber Corps" of technical professionals.

"These scholarships will encourage young people to enter the field of information security and assurance, and give them an opportunity to put their talents to work at the front lines of government cybersecurity efforts," said Rita Colwell, director of the National Science Foundation.

Recent security breaches such as hack attacks on the White House Web site and cyber-wars between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli hackers have encouraged the government to get this program underway in a hurry.

The first scholarships will be awarded through Carnegie Mellon University, Iowa State University, Purdue University, the University of Idaho, the University of Tulsa, and the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California.