MCI announced today that it has joined forces with the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project of Reston, Virginia, to catapult a new kind of entrepreneur to the forefront of the global economy the "net entrepreneur." The Potomac KnowledgeWay Project, a non-profit organization, was created to help the greater Washington region seize the economic, educational and social opportunities of the communications revolution and become the global center of the knowledge industry.

MCI and the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project are committed to devising a support system to help net entrepreneurs in the greater Washington region bring net-centric products and services to market faster. The centerpiece of this support system will be a new Web site to be developed, designed and hosted by MCI.

"MCI knows first hand the innovation and economic opportunities created by fostering the entrepreneurial spirit," said Nate Davis, MCI Senior Vice President, Local Markets. "It is this spirit that continues to drive growth in new markets, and that is so vital to this region's economy. We are particularly excited about this program because it is focused on helping net entrepreneurs in MCI's hometown region."

"MCI's commitment to the Project makes a bold statement about the vibrancy of the entrepreneurial community in the area," said Mario Morino, chairman of the Potomac KnowledgeWay Project, and founder and former CEO of Legent Corporation. "The growing base of Internet and online services, Web-development shops and content providers is making this region a new and exciting entrepreneurial hot bed of activity. It's now official: the term greater Washington entrepreneur is no longer an oxymoron."