exonemo’s first foray into net art, KAO is an interactive program in which viewers select and position facial features to compose a face of their own design, then submit it to the server. The face combines with another face on the server to generate a new “child” face that inherits characteristics of both; this then combines with the next user’s submission to create the next face, thus passing down the genes successively. Internet-based artwork that integrated viewer interaction was a rarity back in 1996, and KAO was featured in various magazines and TV programs to enthusiastic response. It won top prize in the artistic expression category at the Internet Association Japan’s Java Technology, Application, and Expression Awards ’97.