NORAD Tracking Santa's Sleigh

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (AP) -- Get the milk and cookies ready.  Santa Claus has begun his latest flight.

That's the word from NORAD -- the North American Aerospace Defense Command -- which is in charge of the annual Christmas mission to keep children informed of Santa's worldwide journey.

Last year, NORAD's Santa tracking center answered 94,000 calls and responded to 10,000 e-mails. About 10.6 million visitors went to the Web site.

NORAD's holiday tradition can be traced to 1955. A Colorado Springs newspaper printed a Sears, Roebuck & Co. ad telling children of a phone number to talk to Santa. But the number was one digit off, and calls got through to NORAD's predecessor, the Continental Air Defense Command.