WEBSITE GIVES AWAY HOLIDAY BEANIES

Tonight will mark the start of Week Five of SEMissourian.com's Beanie Baby giveway, and it may prove the contest's most popular week yet.

Beginning at 5 p.m., online visitors can register for two sought-after holiday Beanies: the 1997 Holiday Teddy and Snowball the snowman.

To register, go to www.semissourian.com

Although originally priced at $5, the holiday Beanies have sold for much higher prices both locally and across the nation due to their popularity and the fact they're so hard to find.

Winners of the holiday Beanie Babies will be announced Christmas Day at the website.

During the six-week contest, the Southeast Missourian's official web site will give out a dozen different Beanie Babies to online visitors.

Winners of the Beanies to date include:

Week One: Sarah Watkins of Dexter, Lucky the Ladybug, and Alyssa Mohney of Scott City, Bongo the Monkey.

Week Two: Tricia Kirchdoerfer of Cape Girardeau, Waddle the Penguin, and Ron Borders of Sikeston, Nuts the Squirrel.

Week Three: Mary Robertson of Cape Girardeau, Inch the Inchworm, and Daisy Koch of Cape Girardeau, Quackers the Duck.

Thursday, the winners of Baldy the Eagle and Ringo the Raccoon will be announced online. The holiday Beanies will be posted Christmas Day. On New Year's Day, Daisy the Cow and Ears the Rabbit will be awarded during the contest's final week.

Registration is easy, but must be done online. Those registering are asked to supply their name, address, e-mail address and phone number.

Individuals without a computer at home, can register at several public Internet locations, including the Cape Girardeau Public Library, the Riverside Regional Library and satellite locations, and Generations Center at Southeast Missouri Hospital.

Entries are limited to one per person, per day. However, multiple family members can enter on the same day.

The contest began the week of Thanksgiving, and entries have averaged around 1,500 each week.

The promotion has proved so successful that the SEMissourian.com staff hope to sponsor weekly giveaways in 1998.

Southeast Missourian's web site is the largest commercial site of its kind in the region, with more than 800 pages. It has averaged between 94,000 and 105,000 hits each of the last three weeks.