FOR RELEASE:  April 20, 1994             CONTACT:  John Barclay
                                                  (202) 208-3983

             MMS PUBLISHES PRESS RELEASES ON THE INTERNET (#40030)

      The Interior Department's Minerals Management Service (MMS)
will begin publishing its press releases on the Internet effective
today, agency officials have announced.

      MMS will make new press releases available electronically at
the same time they are published on other media, according to MMS
Director Tom Fry.  The agency will maintain an archive of press
releases issued from 1993 to present at the same location on the
Internet.

      Anyone with access to the Internet, a worldwide network of
computers, can access the MMS press release archive, Fry said. 
"MMS takes seriously the President's commitment to use proven new
technology to make government more accessible," Fry said.  "This
change will make information about MMS more available and more
convenient for a wide variety of our customers."

      MMS will provide an anonymous ftp server known as
"ftp.digex.net  (164.109.10.23)".  Anyone with access to the
Internet can find the MMS press releases archive by using the
following recipe:

      Type:    ftp ftp.digex.net
      When asked for login id, type:  anonymous
      When asked for password, type your Internet e-mail address.

      The press releases are in the directory,
/pub/mms/press-releases.  Users can find a description of press
releases and other available documents in the file, acatalog.txt.

      For technical questions and comments on this Internet
publishing service, contact Steven Gorey, Division Chief,
Information Resources Management, at (703) 787-1258.

                                      -MMS-

Subject: PR-04/20/94 Internet/MMS Publishes Press Releases on the
Internet (#40030)