New York, NY March 5, 2003 - Powerpets.com, a virtual pets Website that that appeals to children under 13, has agreed to make modifications in order to comply with The Children's Advertising Review Unit's Self-Regulatory Guidelines for Children's Advertising and the federal Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

The Website operator modified the privacy policy to comply with CARU's Guidelines and COPPA. In addition, the operator modified the registration areas to eliminate any "tip-off" language, and implement a tracking mechanism to prevent children from falsifying their ages after initially being rejected. The operator implemented a verifiable parental consent mechanism to address responsibly children under 13 years of age.

CARU's inquiry was conducted under the NAD/NARB/CARU Procedures for Voluntary Self-Regulation of National Advertising. Details of the inquiry, CARU's decision and the advertiser's response will be included in the next NAD/CARU Case Report.

Members of the press who wish to see a copy of the decision now should email CARU.

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The National Advertising Review Council (NARC) was formed in 1971 by the Association of National Advertisers, Inc. (ANA), the American Association of Advertising Agencies, Inc. (AAAA), the American Advertising Federation, Inc. (AAF), and the Council of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. (CBBB). Its purpose is to foster truth and accuracy in national advertising through voluntary self-regulation. NARC is the body that establishes the policies and procedures for the CBBB's National Advertising Division (NAD), the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU), and the National Advertising Review Board (NARB).

NAD and CARU are the investigative arms of the advertising industry's voluntary self-regulation program. Their casework results from competitive challenges from other advertisers, and also from self-monitoring traditional and new media, including the Internet. The National Advertising Review Board (NARB), the appeals body, is a peer group from which ad-hoc panels are selected to adjudicate those cases that are not resolved at the NAD/CARU level. This unique, self-regulatory system is funded entirely by the business community; CARU is financed by the children's advertising industry, while NAD/NARB's sole source of funding is derived from membership fees paid to the Council of Better Business Bureaus.