But privacy advocates are up in arms because the Pentagon is working with Wakefield, Mass.-based BeNow Inc., to collect and analyze everything from birth dates, Social Security numbers and e-mail addresses to grade-point averages, ethnicity and what subjects the students are studying.

The Washington Post said the system also gives the Pentagon the right, without notifying citizens, to share the data for numerous uses outside the military, with law enforcement, state tax authorities, Congress and others.

Chris Jay Hoofnagle, West Coast director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center, called the system "audacious," and questioned the collection of Social Security numbers.

"What's ironic is that the private sector has ways of uniquely identifying individuals without using Social Security numbers for marketing," he said.

The army has responded to criticisms in writing, stating: "Using multiple sources allows the compilation of a more complete list of eligible candidates to join the military. This program is important because it helps bolster the effectiveness of all the services' recruiting and retention efforts."

But James Harper, a privacy expert with the Cato Institute, told the Post, "It's just typical of how voracious government is when it comes to personal information. Defense is an area where government has a legitimate responsibility ... but there are a lot of data fields they don't need and shouldn't be keeping. Ethnicity strikes me as particularly inappropriate."

United Press International contributed to this report.

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