Arlington, VA -- August 7, 2002 -- washingtonpost.com today announced that it will require users to provide information about themselves in order to have full access to the site. A short survey, designed to move the user quickly through the process, will gather year of birth, gender, and zip code from the site's 5 million monthly visitors.

"washingtonpost.com is committed to better understanding our audience so we can create a more powerful user and advertiser experience," said washingtonpost.com CEO Christopher M. Schroeder.

Schroeder continued, "This fast and simple user survey will allow us to take an important step forward in our ability to interact with our audience and target advertising. Knowing more about our audience will also allow us to continually improve the user experience, both by developing more products that meet their needs and delivering more relevant advertising. And without question, a good user experience is an essential part of creating the best advertiser experience."

The three-question survey does not ask for personally-identifiable information, and can be completed in less than 30 seconds. Most users will only receive the survey one time, unless they do not have cookies enabled or they switch computers. The data will allow washingtonpost.com to gain a greater understanding of its audience and deliver advertisements to segments of the site's audience based on age, gender or location.

"We believe strongly in the future of online advertising, and this survey will take us closer to meeting its full potential," Schroeder commented. "Being able to reach our whole audience or just a valuable segment, is an exciting and potentially enormous proposition for Web advertisers. Interactive capabilities such at this are not only unique to the medium, they are the keys to the success of quality content sites."

Beginning on Wednesday, August 7, washingtonpost.com users will have the opportunity to voluntarily provide the information. On August 14, washingtonpost.com will begin rolling out the mandatory survey section by section across the site. When the roll-out is complete, the vast majority of washingtonpost.com pages will be accessible only if a user has provided the requested information. Users will be able to access the home page without interruption, but will receive the survey page when they visit articles or sections.

washingtonpost.com (www.washingtonpost.com) is an award-winning news, information and entertainment resource on the Web. The site offers the day's Washington Post, continually updated news coverage, breaking stories and extensive original content, as well as a growing suite of cultural, community and commerce services that make it the definitive guide to Greater Washington. washingtonpost.com is published by Washingtonpost.Newsweek Interactive, the new-media and electronic-publishing subsidiary of The Washington Post Company (NYSE:WPO).