FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS

Treasury Secretary Lawrence H. Summers today unveiled the Savings Bond Connection, an on-line location for purchasing U.S. Savings Bonds over the Internet 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

"Americans have relied on Savings Bonds for decades as an important tool in their efforts to save for their future," Secretary Summers said. "By bringing Savings Bonds as close as your home computer, this program makes it more convenient for millions of Americans to add to their savings."

Designed for the convenient purchases of savings bonds, the website offers secure on-line purchases of Series EE and new Series I (inflation-indexed) bonds with either a MasterCard or Visa. It takes about five minutes to buy a bond at www.savingsbonds.gov. After entering ownership information for the bond, a credit card number and e-mail contact information, buyers get a confirmation of purchase. Bonds are delivered, by mail, in about one week. In the case of last minute gift purchases, a gift certificate can be downloaded.

Most purchasers will use the Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), the current encryption standard for Internet commerce. Secure Electronic Transaction (SET) technology is also available for those customers doing business with banks who issue SET certificates.

The Savings Bond Connection on the Bureau of the Public Debt's website was developed in a joint effort with MasterCard International, Mellon Financial Corporation, IBM Corporation and the Treasury Department's Financial Management Service.

Purchasers must have Internet browsers equivalent to Netscape 3.0 or better or Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 or higher.

The new Series I inflation-indexed savings bonds along with Series EE bonds are available in the most popular denominations: $50, $75, $100, $200 and $500 ($1,000 for Series EE bonds). There is a $500 issue price limit for individual orders.