A pioneer in the creation and distribution of stylish, premium phone cards, Star Telecom has raised the phone card to a new level of design excellence with the debut of its newest series, entitled "When the Web Was Young TM," conceived by Larry Ball and produced by Star Telecom Network. "This is a great way to promote a Web site. Not only does it allow Webmasters to show off their hard work, but it allows users to help support their favorite Web site by doing something we all do - spend time on the phone.

Star Telecom's president David Eisenstadt notes that the series, which links together carefully selected commercial and artistic Web sites, has a potential audience of millions. "Our partners include such heavy traffic pages as imusic, the alternative music site, and CyberTown, the virtual village," he says, "as well as such high-visibility destinations as the sites for Condomania, Star Chefs and The Year 2000 Information Center."

The participants in the Home Page series were chosen because "they demonstrate independence of spirit, excellence and originality of concept," according to Eisenstadt. "The designers for sites like Art Scenecal, PhotoArts, The Voluptuous Horror of Karen Black and The Outhouses of America have created images from the beautiful to bizarre and would stir the interest of collectors everywhere."

The new Star Telecom site, designed by Edwin Janaslani of All Art Design, features a gallery of four-color, full-sized graphics for each of its artfully designed cards, which users can purchase online. The card's history, financial value and the size of the edition accompany every illustration. Besides the Internet-related Home Page Phone Card Series TM, special attention is given to more traditional cards focusing on art, photography, music, film and travel. In many cases, proceeds from the sales of cards benefit non-profit and service organizations, such as the Rainforest Action Network, the AIDS research organization Lifebeat and Endorse Peace.

"Every card is a valuable collectible," asserts Eisenstadt. "Some were created as promotions, some as fund-raisers or as retail items, but every one is beautifully conceived and all are issued in limited editions. Their potential worth may far exceed the face value."

A prepaid phone card, or debit card, is a calling card that allows a user to make local, long distance or international phone calls at substantial savings from a touch tone phone (including pay phones and hotel phones) to virtually any telephone in the world. With a phone card, a user has access to a variety of enhanced telephone services, including speed dial, voicemail, information trees and survey questionnaires.

Each card in the "When the Web Was Young TM" series contains 40 minutes of long distance calling time and sells for $20. Any three cards from the series can be purchased for $50. Voice menu and information tree enhancements such as personalized greetings, included on many of the Web site cards, provide significant added interactivity and entertaining information related to the subject matter or business of the site.

Phone cards, with their colorful graphics and usually limited provenance, have become a hot item among collectors around the world. Especially in Europe and Japan, and increasingly in the United States, rare and unique phone cards are becoming prized possessions. The price guide in the latest issue of Moneycard Collector magazine, for example, lists dozens of cards valued in the hundreds and some worth thousands of dollars.