``Hello! If a sweep says "one entry per household," and I have given a sister (she doesn't live with me) a WebTV email address can we enter the same sweep using different street addresses and phone numbers?

Both entries are coming from the same computer. Is it considered the same household? Are we disqualifying ourselves?

Also is it possible to use my boyfriend's home address and his phone number but my name and birth date? When I have already used it with my home address?"

Dear A.M.:

I would say that it's perfectly OK to enter for your sister using a different email address and street address as long as you have her permission and the rules don't prohibit it. I have seen rules that state you CANNOT enter for another person -- with or without the person's permission.

I've also seen rules that say that if there's a dispute about the owner of a winning email address, the prize will go to the person who is officially registered as the owner. I can see a dispute arising if you entered for a relative or friend, and then maybe you had a disagreement with that friend and decided that you'd rather NOT sit back and see them get the prize.

Or maybe they did want the prize, but since you did all the work, you decided you were entitled to it.

Either way, any time you do something irregular like this, there's a potential for something going wrong. But when rules say "one entry per household," they're referring to the households of the entrants. They most likely are not talking about the household where the computer you're using is located. For all a contest sponsor knows, you may have entered the sweeps at a computer at a public library.

The second question is more difficult. If you've already entered once under your own name on a one-entry-only sweeps, then entering yourself again under a different street address would, strictly speaking, cheating or breaking the rule. If you're asking if it's possible that your double entry might slip pass the eyes of the judges, then yup -- maybe!

There are so many sweeps to enter, though. Why waste the time and effort? What if they do check and you are disqualified? And remember, many national sweeps get thousand and thousands -- and maybe millions -- of entries. Entering yourself twice against the rules may not raise your chances of winning by many percentage points. But, depending on how closely a sponsor is watching, it could increase your chances of being disqualified by 100 percent.

Have a question about sweeps? Got a great sweepstakes story you want to share? Let me know at cassie@fidget.com.