A real man is suave, debonair and hopefully uses a Discover Card. Discover kicked off its Discover Card "Man of the Year" award program this week offering some neat prizes . Discover Card is inviting sons, daughters, wives and friends to nominate men who inspire them by writing a short essay describing why the nominee should be recognized for his commitment to a life of style, grace and excellence. Prizes will be awarded to the nominee and the nominator. The grand prize-winning nominee and a guest will win a trip to New York City and receive the red carpet treatment at the 2001 GQ "Men of the Year" Awards ceremony on October 17. After the ceremony, they will join celebrity guests at a VIP post-party. Winners will also receive shopping sprees of $1,000 each on pre-loaded Discover Cards for the grand prize nominee and nominator; $500 each for the first prize winners and $250 each for the second prize winners. Winners of the Discover Card "Man of the Year" award program will be featured on Discovercard.com.

The Discover Card "Man of the Year" award program complements the GQ "Men of the Year" Awards ceremony, scheduled to air in late October. Anyone interested in entering the Discover Card "Man of the Year" award program* can submit an essay and fill out an online entry form at Discovercard.com or send a submission by mail to: Discover Card Man of the Year, P.O. Box 4581, Blair, NE 68009-4581. All entries must be received by September 7, 2001. For official rules, please visit the Discover(R) Card "Man of the Year" essay contest web page at www.discovercard.com .