Hewlett-Packard has launched a contest on YouTube called the “HP You on You project” that asks people to create and share videos expressing who they are without showing their faces.

The contest runs through August 30 and is open to people globally. Contestants can submit their videos on the contest website. Each week a panel will select 20 videos as semifinalists. YouTube users can vote to choose the top four videos, which will then compete to win the grand prize of $40,000 along with recognition of the video on the YouTube homepage.

After six weeks, each of the 100 semifinalists selected by YouTube will receive an HP Artist Edition notebook PC, and the 20 finalists selected by YouTube viewers also will each receive $2,500. The first-, second- and third-place winners will receive $40,000, $20,000 and $15,000 prizes, respectively.

“We are really excited about the global scope, accessibility and social aspects of the HP You on You project,” said Jamie Byrne, head of Marketing Programs, YouTube.

“This is one of the first programs where we have integrated tools for users to share their videos as broadly as possible across the web and other social platforms.”

The U.S. government announced today it would soon release $4 billion in loans and grants to help bring broadband service to rural communities across America.

This is the first round of Recovery Act funding aimed at expanding broadband access to help bridge the technological gap and create jobs building out Internet infrastructure.

“Today’s announcement is a first step toward realizing President Obama’s vision of a nationwide 21st-century communications infrastructure - one that encourages economic growth, enhances America’s global competitiveness and helps address many of America’s most pressing challenges,” said Vice President Biden.

The Recovery Act provided a total of $7.2 billion to the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Utilities Service (RUS) to speed broadband deployment in areas of the country that have been without the high-speed infrastructure.

Of that funding, NTIA will use $4.7 billion to deploy broadband infrastructure in un-served and underserved areas in the United States, expand public computer center capacity and encourage sustainable adoption of broadband service. RUS will invest $2.5 billion to facilitate broadband deployment in rural communities.

NTIA and RUS will be accepting applications for loans, grants and loan/grant combinations to be given by each agency under a single application form. The complete details are available here.