The application time for the one-million-euro Millennium Technology Prize has begun. The winner of the biggest technology prize in the world, which is being awarded for the second time, will be made public in June 2006.

Candidates can be proposed by all the universities, research institutes, science and engineering academies, technology companies and industrial organizations in the world. The application time terminates at the end of October 2005, the winner will be announced at the beginning of June 2006 and the prize awarded in September 2006.

The Finnish Technology Award Foundation grants the Millennium Prize for a significant technological research outcome or innovation that directly promotes people's quality of life, is based on humane values and encourages sustainable economic development. The aim is to guide the accelerating development in technology in a humane direction.

"The Prize aims to bring to the fore technological innovations when their development promises considerable benefits for everyday life. Traditionally, giving a reward for science and technology has been to a great extent rewarding a life's work," says Tytti Nahi, the communications officer at the Finnish Technology Award Foundation.

The prize, which is awarded every other year, will now be made for the second time. The first winner was Tim Berners-Lee, the inventor of the World Wide Web, in 2004. The prize is financed by the State of Finland, Finnish industrial organizations and private companies.

>> www.millenniumprize.fi

The Finnish Technology Award Foundation grants the Millennium Prize for a significant technological research outcome or innovation that directly promotes people's quality of life.