WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 11, 2000--Net Perceptions, Inc. (Nasdaq:NETP) was named one of six finalists in the Business and Related Services category of the 2000 Computerworld Smithsonian Awards.

A panel of distinguished judges selected 51 finalists in 10 categories from a total of 444 laureates, whose work was nominated for an award. This year, 122 nominations were submitted in the Business and Related Services category.

Net Perceptions' "Web Services" were nominated by Lawrence Ellison, chairman and chief executive officer of Oracle Corp., for realtime personalization software that learns the wants, needs, and interests of individual consumers and matches them with products that fill those needs, making the process of Internet shopping more efficient.

The Computerworld Smithsonian Program will announce the Award recipient for each of the 10 categories on June 5th during the Program's Annual Award Gala at Washington, D.C.'s National Building Museum. At this time, the program will also present Leadership awards to six individuals for their vision and commitment to spearheading revolutionary change. This year more than 800 industry leaders and professionals are expected to attend the event, including past Award recipients, chairmen, and judges.

"Net Perceptions should be considered as outstanding among the 444 Laureates," said Daniel Morrow, executive director of the Computerworld Smithsonian Program, "It represents some of the very best in an extraordinary class of Laureates in the 2000 Collection."

Founded in 1988, the Computerworld Smithsonian Program searches for and recognizes individuals and organizations that have demonstrated vision and leadership as they strive to use information technology to benefit society. Each year, the Computerworld Smithsonian Chairmen's Committee nominates organizations that use information technology to improve society across 10 categories: Business and Related Services; Education and Academia; Environment, Energy and Agriculture; Finance, Insurance and Real Estate; Government and Non-Profit Organizations; Manufacturing; Media, Arts and Entertainment; Medicine; Science; and Transportation.

The Collection this year includes more than 440 innovative applications from 38 states and 21 countries and will be archived in the Permanent Research Collection on Information Technology at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

Information about the 2000 Collection will be available at http://www.cwsmithsonian.org, the official Internet Site of the Computerworld Smithsonian Program, where the entire collection is available to scholars, researchers and the general public worldwide.

For interviews, tickets to events or further information please contact: Simone Ross or Shahaeda Abbas, Computerworld Smithsonian Program, 617/357-1977.

CONTACT: Computerworld Smithsonian Program

Simone Ross or Shahaeda Abbas, 617/357-1977