In another example of private-sector efforts to close the digital divide, 25 U.S. companies -- including Sun Microsystems, Intel Corp. and Adobe Systems Inc. -- will spend a total $250 million over 10 years to prepare minorities, women and the disabled for high-tech jobs, the San Jose (Calif..) Mercury News reports.

The announcement, made Thursday by President Bill Clinton during a White House news conference, spells out initial details of the $1 million-a-year commitment by these companies.

Rather than a collective pool of funds, each firm will identify and launch their own programs, such as scholarships, job training and recruitment, and internships.

After earlier criticism from Rev. Jesse Jackson's Rainbow/Push Coalition, Silicon Valley companies sought ways to help improve living standards for minorities and the poor in California.

Diversity has become a major issue since that time -- a Mercury News study of Silicon Valley's largest publicly-traded companies found 89 percent of chief executive officers and chairmen are white, 10 percent are Asian-American and 0.6 percent are African-American.

One of Silicon Valley's few African-American leaders, Robert E. Knowling, Jr. -- chairman, president and chief executive officer of Covad Communications -- told the newspaper that while his company hasn't yet been approached to take part in the program, he applauded any diversity effort.

Clinton also plans to visit East Palo Alto later this month to begin a campaign to close the digital divide.

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