A comprehensive investor education and outreach initiative developed by the New York Stock Exchange is expected to reach more than 20 million students nationwide.

Among the programs recently introduced is "Invest In Yourself" in which the NYSE will partner with one of the nation's leading educational marketing firms, Lifetime Learning Systems, a division of NYSE listed K-III (KCC). The program is designed for grades seven through 12 and provides specially designed educational kits covering stock market fundamentals for students and teachers.

The kits will be sent to nearly 40,000 schools and an enhanced interactive version will be accessible on the NYSE's Web site www.nyse.com.

Other programs developed and managed by the NYSE include Teach-The-Teacher, for economics, business and social studies teachers; Academic Day on the Trading Floor, a program for business professors; You and the Investment World, a printed and on-line study guide for teachers and students; and Educational Seminars for college and graduate students.

"Our goal is to make the equities marketplace easy to understand and accessible to everyone," said Grasso. "Invest In Yourself" explains the fundamentals of the marketplace and reinforces our commitment to teaching future generations about the workings and benefits of the equities marketplace, how it affects their lives and how it can help shape their futures."

The NYSE Interactive Education Center represents an extensive transformation from what was the NYSE Visitors Center. The center, which offers free admission to the public, annually hosts more than 600,000 visitors. The new center provides visitors with a technology-driven, user-friendly learning experience that features touch-screen information kiosks, interactive stock trading exhibits, computerized virtual tours of the trading floor and a film presentation, as well as a viewing gallery overlooking the trading floor.

The NYSE is the world's leading equities marketplace with more than 3,000 listed companies. Currently it trades more than 500 million shares each day with a value of $21 billion. (NAPSI)