In 2009, 1,952,879 pupils from 204 countries correctly answered 452,681,681 questions in World Maths Day.
And organisers of this year's event, to be held on March 3, hope to break the record and get more than 2 million pupils to participate.
The number of Otago secondary schools entered is multiplying.
Logan Park High School, St Hildas Collegiate, St Kevins College (Oamaru), Waitaki Girls High School, Waitaki Boys High School and Otago Girls High School have already registered to participate, along with 18 primary and intermediate schools in the region.
All are aiming to help smash the record.
World Maths Day, created and hosted by 3P Learning, is the world's largest education event, where pupils aged from 5 to 18 compete in real time against other pupils around the world using the World Maths Day website.
The event encourages pupils of all ages, backgrounds and abilities to have a go at maths in a fun, interactive and accessible way.
Participation in World Maths Day is free: all that is needed is internet access.
3P Learning chief executive Yvonne Blanch said World Maths Day had a humble beginning in 2006 with a transtasman, Bledisloe Cup-inspired clash between school pupils in Australia and New Zealand.
This was followed later that year by a mathematical "Ashes" competition between children in England and Australia.
In March 2007, the event went global and became World Maths Day, and this year, she aimed to set a Guinness record for the largest online maths competition.
With more than 2 million pupils from more than 200 countries already registered and practising online, the target was truly in sight, she said.
Pupils participate in mental arithmetic games, each lasting 60 seconds and involving arithmetic problems including addition, subtraction, multiplication, and minor equations.
While pupils and schools can participate whenever they like throughout the official 48-hour event, only 500 challenges (1 minute each) count towards their individual or class points score, hall of fame and medal tallies.
This allows all pupils the opportunity to compete for a medal, regardless of other school commitments.
An 11-year-old pupil from The Southport School on Queensland's Gold Coast correctly answered 129,106 arithmetic questions in 48 hours, and was named World Maths Day Champion for 2009.
Mrs Blanch said the event had a new format with multi-levels for all age groups this year, and for the first time, teachers and parents were invited to participate and test their maths skills.
The top pupils in each age category will be invited to compete in live playoffs in the National Schools Challenge, held as part of the Planet 2010: Visit the Future conference at Skycity, Auckland, on March 13.
