I'll pipe in a bit here with some support for c#
C# via mono or .net is a great way to learn C syntax and OOP in general.
It's the greatness of C++ minus all the irritants, no pointers (usually), garbage collection, and some great objects built into the framework for you to use.
With the added benefit that you can move to java with ease if you want to...
(However starting with java directly is annoying due to the bad GUI support)
Simply put, Anyone starting out with c/c++ as a beginner has a long road to productivity, C# makes the road MUCH shorter.
GL in whatever you pick up.
(LOLCODE looks superior to all tho haha, thats a good one)
