SANDRA SOBIERAJ, Associated Press Writer Wednesday, December 18, 2002

(12-18) 13:35 PST WASHINGTON (AP) --

The White House's "Barney-cam" is a holiday Web hit, drawing 24 million online tourists the first day of its dog's-eye view of the White House Christmas decorations.

The video was taped at Barney's eye level as President Bush's little Scottish terrier scooted around the White House state rooms. Its debut last Thursday marked the third-busiest day for the White House website -- after Sept. 11, 2001, (44 million hits), and last month's launch of the "Life in the White House" online video series (38.5 million hits).

How can the White House be sure all those hits weren't the self-promoting mischief of Barney himself?

"Barney is what you might call a 'publicity hound,"' spokesman Ari Fleischer deadpanned. "But he was unable to watch his own video because he hit the 'paws' button."

-- Anonymous, December 18, 2002