By The Associated Press Filed at 5:14 p.m. EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President Clinton signed legislation Monday to encourage businesses and organizations to share information on avoiding massive computer malfunctions in the year 2000.

Clinton signed the Year 2000 Information and Readiness Disclosure Act without fanfare before he left the White House for the Middle East peace negotiations in Maryland.

The legislation helps provide businesses, governments, and other organizations with information on dealing with the so-called Y2K problem. It creates a specific antitrust exemption for Y2K preparation activities, and creates an Internet site containing information and links to the latest solutions for consumers, small businesses and local governments.

``The Y2K problem is an enormous challenge, and we must meet it,'' Clinton said. ``Enactment of this legislation is a significant achievement toward allowing all of us to take a successful step into the new millennium.''

The legislation also established a limited liability protection so that companies and organizations will feel comfortable sharing information on how to prepare for expected computer glitches -- something they are now reluctant to do out of fear of lawsuits.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., a co-sponsor of the bill, said the Internet site would be particularly helpful because it can act as a ``national information clearinghouse'' for Y2K problems.

``It makes perfect sense to expand the use of the Internet itself as an information resource in tackling these computer glitches,'' Leahy said.

Also Monday, the president's Council on Year 2000 Conversion launched ``National Y2K Action Week,'' a week of educational events designed to urge smaller businesses to ensure their computers are protected once the century turns.

-- pshannon (pshannon@inch.com), October 19, 1998

Answers

It's amazing to me that I never here anything about this stuff on the evening news. They report on everything else in washington but I have yet to here Peter Jennings , Tom Brokaw or anyone else say anyhthing about "y2k". This is supposed to Y2kawareness week but until it gets on the evening news the people that really need to know but don't have access to the internet are never going to find out.

-- SEC (ciattis@earthlink.net), October 19, 1998.