While I generally don't post information that will be stale in a few months -- much preferring timeless pearls of wisdom that will stand the test of time (*cough*) -- in this case I'm going to make an exception. I just found out about a competition that -- if you qualify -- you're going to be very interested in. It's called Pitch 2009: Women 2.0 Startup Competition, and the prizes are nothing short of awesome.

Here's the pitch from the Pitch 2009 website:

What do Disney, Hewlett-Packard and Microsoft have in common? These iconic American companies all had their beginnings during tough economic times. Despite the downturn in the economy, many entrepreneurs and VCs are saying that now is a great time to start a company. Are you next? Pitch 2009 can get you started by giving you a chance to PITCH. Our goal is to encourage entrepreneurial women to launch startups and, with feedback from the judging panel of investors and experienced executives, take their businesses to the next level.

Is this competition worth your time? In a word: Yes. The winning team will receive:

• One-on-one meeting with Michael Moritz from Sequoia Capital
• 3 months of office space and mentoring from Plug and Play Tech Center
• Marketing strategy from MWW Group
• PR strategy from JonesPR
• Legal support from Pillsbury

There is a nominal fee of $25 to enter. Check out the Pitch 2009 website for further details (and tell 'em we sent you!).