FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
Wednesday, May 15, 2002

Peace Corps Nominated for Webby Award; Web Site Honored for Overall Excellence in Best Practices Category

WASHINGTON, D.C., May 15, 2002—The Webby Awards, the leading international honors for Web sites, has nominated the Peace Corps Web site at www.peacecorps.gov for a Webby Award in the category of Best Practices. The category recognizes overall excellence in content, structure and navigation, visual design, interactivity, functionality, and overall experience.

As a nominee for a Webby Award, Peace Corps is also eligible to win a People\'s Voice Award. Voting is open to the public through June 7th at www.webbyawards.com/peoplesvoice/. Webby Award and People\'s Voice Award winners will be announced on June 18, 2002.

"Our Web site is an important tool in educating the public about today’s Peace Corps and recruiting the next generation of Peace Corps volunteers," said Peace Corps Director Gaddi Vasquez. "This award nomination recognizes that Peace Corps is a quality online destination for all Americans who want to learn more about the world around them, consider the opportunities for service, and even apply online to serve overseas."

The Peace Corps continues to experience record Web traffic and inquiries from members of the public interested in volunteering following President Bush’s January 29 State of the Union address, in which he announced his intention to double the number of Peace Corps volunteers over the next five years. Since that announcement, Web site traffic remains 102 percent over the same period last year, and requests for Peace Corps applications are nearly 40 percent higher. Bush identified the Peace Corps growth target as one way for all Americans to contribute two years of volunteer service.

More than 165,000 volunteers have served in 135 countries since the Peace Corps was established in 1961. Today, more than 7,000 volunteers serve in programs to address business development, health and HIV/AIDS, the environment, education, agriculture and information technology. For more information about the Peace Corps, call 800.424.8580 or visit www.peacecorps.gov.

The Webby Awards are determined by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, a diverse, 350-person organization whose membership includes film director Francis Ford Coppola, musicians David Bowie and Beck, cyberguru Esther Dyson, and chef Julia Child. The Sixth Annual Webby Awards will take place this year on Tuesday, June 18, 2002, at San Francisco\'s Legion of Honor.

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