The institution still needs another $50m (£28.4m) to reach its target.

It wants to use the funds to have more exhibits, have longer opening hours and set up educational programmes.

'Incredible change'

"The Gates' generous gift has provided an unprecedented opportunity to build more rapidly toward a full complement of programmes and exhibits, and fulfill our destiny as a significant and unique cultural resource," said John Toole, CEO of the museum.

It houses an impressive collection of more than 4,000 computing artefacts, 10,000 images, 4,000 linear feet of catalogued documentation and gigabytes of software.

Currently the museum is only open three afternoons a week. It has two exhibitions, plus a large area where visitors can see a range of historic machines, such as a Cray-1 supercomputer, an Apple I and a PalmPilot prototype.

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"The impact on our society of the computing revolution is simply breathtaking. It has changed the way we work, play, learn, and communicate," said Mr Gates.

"It's our responsibility to collect the artefacts and stories today that will explain this incredible change to future generations."