Your chance to paint Ken Schrader's wagon.

Pink, purple or aqua - how will you decide? Candy lovers around the globe will be faced with that decision beginning March 6th when Masterfoods USA launches its Global Colour Vote - the largest promotion in the 61-year history of the M&M's brand. As consumers debate which colour should be added to the famous mix in packs of the world's No. 1 candy brand, NASCAR fans will keep some other things in mind when making their decision.

Every vote cast for the new colour of M&M's will be a vote cast for the colour of Ken Schrader's No. 36 race car. In a one-race paint scheme at Bristol Motor Speedway on August 24, Schrader will run the winning colour car - be it purple, pink or aqua.

"To be honest, a car is a car whether it is pink, purple, aqua or yellow like the M&M's car is now," Schrader said. "All I'm concerned about is that it runs well. It's like a bull ring at Bristol with 43 cars beating and banging on each other under those lights."

"To tell you the truth, if we come out of the track with a strong finish and the fenders still on the car when that checkered flag falls - I might want to keep the new colour car."

During the voting period, Schrader will pilot a special "Global Color Vote" paint scheme. At four races - Martinsville, Talladega, California and Richmond - Schrader will drive the Global Color Vote car. The car is similar to the familiar bright yellow No. 36, but it features the colour choices of purple, pink and aqua.

The M&M characters also get in on the fun as they are depicted painting the car their colour of choice. Red is dangling from a rope as he tries to paint the driver's side aqua. Blue has used his artistic skills to colour the passenger side pink. And Yellow has painted himself and the back of the No. 36 purple.

The Global Color Vote is the first worldwide promotion in M&M's brand history. Voters will come from a colourful mix of countries - from Australia to the Ukraine - including nations in which no citizen has previously had the opportunity to cast a governmental ballot.

Residents around the globe will be eligible to vote by logging on to www.mms.com, which will be accessible in 10 different languages beginning March 6, 2002. Before casting a vote, consumers will have the opportunity to sample each colour in specially marked packages available at retailers worldwide.

The winning colour will be announced in June 2002 at a gala event in New York City with the winning colour car being driven by Schrader at the Bristol night race in August.

For NASCAR fans, the stakes are high as they choose which colour the No. 36 will be for one race. What colour car would Schrader like to get behind the wheel to drive?

"To be honest, I'll probably vote for purple," Schrader said. "My daughter likes that colour, and I think a purple race car would look sporty out there on the track. But I'll drive whatever colour car the fans want to put me in."