On the count of three, smile West Virginia University.

Thats the idea behind a Mountaineer Card Services project set to kick off Monday, Nov. 15, and continue through Saturday, Nov. 20, at WVU .

All WVU faculty, staff and students, who havent had a photo taken since May 2002, are required to take new ones at Mountaineer Card Services. TheSmile on 3project is part of the changeover from Social Security numbers to the new WVUID .

This change is critical to WVU s continuing efforts to reduce the risk of identity theft,said Cheng Khoo, director of Admissions and Records.New Mountaineer Cards that take effect July 2005 will be encoded with the new WVUID number rather than a Social Security number.

New Mountaineer Cards will be produced and distributed in the spring. The earlier people can get their photos taken, the better, said Mountaineer Card Services Coordinator Carolyn McDaniel.

The Mountaineer Card is more than your photo identification,she said.It may be used to access WVU Dining Services, the PRT , WVU Libraries, athletic events, Student Health Services, select campus vending machines, campus laundry facilities, the Student Recreation Center and the computer labs. It is also your debit card for the Mountie Bounty and Dining Dollars programs.

As an added incentive, the Mountaineer Card Services office in the Mountainlair (next to theLair Box Office) is offering extended hours during Mountaineer week: from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Thursday, Nov. 15-18; from 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 19; and from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 20.

The first 15 people who show up at theLair Mountaineer Card Services office to get theirmug shotstaken each of those days will receive a WVU mug (limit one per person during the promotion).

For more information about Mountaineer Card Services, log ontohttp://www.wvu.edu/~wvucard/.