PALO ALTO, CA - HP (NYSE:HPQ) today launched a new global program, the HP Digital Cultural Exchange, focused on promoting cultural and environmental awareness among the world's youth, using digital imaging technology from HP.

Despite the news-making circumstances of today's world and the media's attention to global issues, studies show that young adults in the United States and abroad have little knowledge of geography and other cultures. According to a recent National Geographic-Roper survey, three out of 10 young adults surveyed worldwide were unable to locate the Pacific Ocean on a world map. Eighty-three percent of young Americans could not find Afghanistan.

Through the HP Digital Cultural Exchange program, HP is inviting a dozen schools from the United States, Argentina, Australia, Canada, the Czech Republic, India, Lebanon and Senegal to come together to learn about each other's countries, customs and cultures through an exchange of photo essays. The photo essays will be shared online during the program, which will culminate with a live exhibit at the American Museum of Natural History in May.

Each classroom will create its photo essay using digital imaging products donated by HP, including an HP Pavilion 523n desktop PC and 15-inch monitor, five HP Photosmart 720 digital cameras, one HP Photosmart 8881 camera dock, one HP Photosmart 7550 printer, one HP Scanjet 5500c scanner and HP photo paper and ink. In addition, Energizer donated 120 packs of e2(R) Photo Lithium AA batteries, which last up to 5 times longer than ordinary alkaline batteries in digital cameras.

"As a company with leading digital imaging solutions and a large global presence, HP is uniquely positioned to bring together young people from all over the globe and enable them to communicate via images," said Chris Morgan, vice president of worldwide sales and marketing, HP Imaging and Printing Group. "The HP Digital Cultural Exchange program will provide these students with a unique and valuable learning experience -- bringing our vision for the 'digital conversation' to life."

Together with Discovery.com, HP is developing a Web site that people can access to keep up-to-date on the program and enter the HP Digital Cultural Exchange sweepstakes, which gives visitors the chance to win some of the same HP digital imaging products that the students are using to create their photo essays. People also can take part in online polls that pertain to what the students are learning about.

"We are pleased to participate in a program that encourages learning and development among students," said Bill Allman, senior vice president and general manager, Discovery Interactive Media. "Through this partnership we are providing an exciting online forum that helps others learn and grow."

HP partnered with iEARN, a non-profit education organization made up more than 4,000 schools in almost 100 countries, to recruit a dozen schools to participate in the program and assist with the development of its curriculum. Following are the schools (located on six of the seven continents):

Africa

-- Martin Luther King School, Dakar Medina, Senegal

Asia

-- Balshikshan Mandir English Medium School, Maharashtra, India

Australia

-- Bairnsdale Secondary College, Bairnsdale, Australia

Europe

-- Gymnasium Teplice, Teplice, the Czech Republic

Middle East

-- Thanwiyat Bikfaya El Rasmyah Beit Chebab, Lebanon

North America

-- Agnes L. Mathers School, Sandspit, B.C., Canada
-- Alderwood Middle School, Lynnwood, Wash.
-- Menomonie Middle School, Menomonie, Wis.
-- Horace Mann Middle School, San Diego, Calif.
-- Robert F. Wagner, Jr., Secondary School for Arts & Technology, Long Island City, N.Y.
-- Wells Junior High School, Wells, Maine

South America

-- CPEM No. 3, Zapala, Argentina

HP and iEARN worked together to develop an intensive five-week lesson plan to assist teachers and students with creating their photo essays. This curriculum presents a series of questions and activities that students are required to answer visually -- using digital photos, scanned images or drawings accompanied by captions. The lesson plans are housed online and are accessible to students and teachers that are participating in the program. The curriculum focuses on the following areas:

-- Acquainting students and teachers with digital imaging technology

-- Obtaining students' preconceived perceptions of other countries/cultures

-- Discovering similarities/disparities of the students'perceptions

-- Exploring environmental concerns in each community

-- Sharing students' hopes for the future

"Programs such as the HP Digital Cultural Exchange encourage important dialogue among students and teachers about what it's like to experience other cultures," said Ed Gragert, executive director, iEARN USA. "In this instance, the digital imaging technology provided by HP makes communication among students in eight different countries easy and allows them to not only share their cultures through words, but through photos as well, which is a powerful means of communication."

Throughout the program, students will use the Internet in addition to HP digital cameras, scanners and printers to communicate and share their progress via online discussion boards and an online photo album hosted at http://www.hpphoto.com. In addition to having the opportunity to talk with their peers in other countries on a daily basis, the students will be able to view and print photos of what life is like elsewhere.

At the end of the program, students will select the best photos from their collective essays to be printed and assembled as an actual photo exhibit. This exhibit will be displayed at the American Museum of Natural History in New York City on May 5 during YouthCaN, one of the largest youth-run summits in the world. In addition, HP will create a dedicated Web site so that the public will be able to view the completed photo essay online.

Each of the 12 participating schools will be invited to send one student representative, one teacher and one chaperone to attend the festivities in New York and present their school's final photo essay.

More information about iEARN is available at http://www.iearn.org/.More information about Discovery Networks, U.S. is available at http://www.discovery.com/.

About HP

HP is a leading global provider of products, technologies, solutions and services to consumers and businesses. The company's offerings span IT infrastructure, personal computing and access devices, global services and imaging and printing. HP completed its acquisition of Compaq Computer Corporation on May 3, 2002. More information about HP is available at http://www.hp.com.

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