Sorting Large File (Code/Performance)

[Ira.Kovac at gmail.com]

Hello all,

I have an Unicode text file with 1.6 billon lines (~2GB) that I'd like
to sort based on first two characters.

I'd greatly appreciate if someone can post sample code that can help
me do this.

Also, any ideas on approximately how long is the sort process going to
take (XP, Dual Core 2.0GHz w/2GB RAM).

Cheers,

Ira