Although President Clinton is reassuring Americans he expects no computer failures from the Year 2000 problem, the main Internet site for the White House displays an unusual message when visitors search for information about Y2K.

Instead of listing documents on the Web site, at www.whitehouse.gov, that include the term “Y2K,” the site’s so-called “virtual library” unexpectedly asks visitors to enter a user name and password combination. Searching for other topics works just fine.