The companies will help the agency explore how new Internet-based reporting technologies can improve the financial reporting process for investors, financial intermediaries, the SEC, and the companies themselves.

The pilot program will simultaneously enable the participant companies to determine the benefits of using interactive data, provide feedback to the Commission, and enable investors and analysts to assess new techniques for analyzing interactive data reports submitted to the SEC in the eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) format.

The 17 members of the 2006 test group are:

3M Company
Altria Group, Inc.
Brazilian Petroleum Corporation
Bristol-Myers Squibb Company
The Dow Chemical Company
Gol Intelligent Airlines, Inc.
Infosys Technologies Limited
Microsoft Corporation
Mobile Reach International, Inc.
Net Servicos De Comunicacao SA
Old Mutual Capital, Inc.
Pfizer, Inc.
R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company
South Financial Group, Inc.
United Technologies Corporation
Xerox Corporation
XM Satellite Radio Holdings, Inc.

For participants in the test group, the SEC has guaranteed expedited reviews of registration statements and annual reports.

Additional companies interested in joining the test group should visit the interactive data spotlight page. The SEC Web page and volunteer form lists a deadline of March 10, but the SEC confirmed that it is still accepting test group participants.

The original February deadline was extended once already, until March 10, to encourage more participants.