Shimon Peres breakfasts at Buck's in Woodside Shimon Peres breakfasts at Buck's in Woodside (May 10, 2000)

A private breakfast at Buck's restaurant in Woodside May 4 featured a prominent guest -- Shimon Peres, Nobel Laureate, former prime minister of Israel, and co-founder of the Labor Party of Israel.

Mr. Peres, who founded the Peres Center for Peace in Israel, shared his vision with Silicon Valley leaders of how the Internet can be used as a force for peace, said Isabel Maxwell, president of Commtouch, a Santa Clara-based e-mail and messaging software company.

He discussed practical means of realizing that vision in the Middle East and beyond, said Ms. Maxwell, who hosted the breakfast. She was recently appointed a member of the board of governors of the Peres Center for Peace.

Attending the breakfast were Tim Koogle of Yahoo!, Les Vadasz of Intel, and Steve Jurvetson of Draper Fisher Jurvetson.

Mr. Peres' visit here was part of a private tour of the United States, which included a speech at a Tahoe conference sponsored by Red Herring, a high-tech investing magazine, and stops in Los Angeles and Miami, said Ms. Maxwell.