In a blog post, Todd Brix, Microsoft’s Senior Director for Mobile Platform Services Product Management wrote that submissions will be accepted from all 29 supported countries, and will be certified on a first-come basis. Approval should take about 10 days, or you’ll be hearing back from Microsoft on why you didn’t make the cut. Brix: “The applications we feature will be well organized, easily accessible by PC or phone and backed by a money back guarantee. And when they’re ready to buy, customers will have a variety of payment options to choose from. These are new customer experiences, and frankly, capabilities that will set us apart.”

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Prizes for the Race to Market Challenge include four Microsoft Surface tables (Developer Edition), online marketing and promotion of your app and “challenge trophies for the mantle.” It sounds like applications will be judged based on four categories: most downloads of a free app; most valuable app (downloads x price); most useful (as judged by Microsoft panel); and most playful (as judged by Microsoft panel). The contest runs from whenever the launch is to Dec 31.