If you are good at solving hard problems and like to program here is something you might do over your winter break: compete in Facebook’s first annual Hackers Cup.

The Hacker Cup will start in Janaury and aims to “bring engineers from around the world together to compete in a multi-round programming competition.” Contestants will work to solve algorithmic-based problem statements to advance and be ranked based on their accuracy and speed in solving them. Winners will get cash prizes and those who do well will probably get invitations to interview for jobs or internships.

Registration begins on Monday December 20 and the first three online rounds will be held in January (7-10, 15-16, and 22). The top 25 contestants after the third round will be flown out to the Facebook campus in Palo Alto for the final competition, which will take place on March 11.

For practice, Facebook suggests you work on some of the problems from their Puzzle Master Page. See http://www.facebook.com/hackercup for more information.