Kevin may be one of the first children living in a poor neighborhood to benefit from PowerUP's efforts, but he will hardly be the last. Since it was conceived two years ago by Colin Powell, the retired general and now U.S. Secretary of State, and AOL Time Warner Chairman Steve Case, the group has set a goal of bringing the Internet to 15 million American kids within five years. And PowerUP is only one of a rapidly growing number of endeavors by U.S. businesses to improve the technological "literacy" of children who study in schools they consider substandard or in schools that cannot afford the best equipment, or who live in homes where parents cannot afford any computers at all.

Forty-four years ago, the panic that followed the Soviet launch of the satellite Sputnik soon led to a big push to improve the teaching of science in America's schools. Fifteen years ago, it was envy of Japan's then seemingly invincible economy that led to campaigns to upgrade basic math and English courses. These days, the perceived threat is closer to home - a so-called "digital divide" between the average American grade-school student, who has access to good computers both at home and school, and those who don't. Computer illiteracy, the fear goes, will only exacerbate many of the divisions that already exist in American society.

What is different this time around is that the business community - not the government - has become the standard-bearer for change in schools, and is backing its demands for better schools with millions in grants and thousands of hours of expertise. Networking giant Cisco Systems has established "academies" in thousands of schools in all 50 states.

Manpower, the staffing company, funds a one-year program to train high schoolers in computer networks. 3Com Corporation trains students to become network administrators. Hewlett-Packard uses grants to encourage elementary schools to upgrade their science programs.