The White House has received more than 500 applicants from around the country for 5- and 6-year-olds who want to play Tee Ball on the South lawn — but none from Hawai'i.

The deadline for applying has passed for everyone else, but it's being extended to find a youngster from the islands.

President Bush is hosting players from around the country. Each player can come with a legal guardian and one other guest.

But there is a hitch: They all have to pay their own expenses or find a sponsor who will.

The Tee Ball games, which are basically softball without a pitcher, are open to Little League as well as non-Little League players, but the White House gets final say on who comes from each state.

Applications due by June 8 have to come from the player's coach, teacher, school principal or counselor and may not come from a parent or the kid. Applicants must be born between May 1, 2001, and April 30, 2003.

The Tee Ball event with Bush is set for July 16.

The White House wrote Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawai'i, about the lack of a Hawai'i applicant.

The event on the South Lawn is intended to promote baseball among children. The White House says Bush is the first former Little League player to attain the presidency.

Little League Baseball is played by more than 3 million youngsters in every state and 103 other countries, and an additional 1 million are estimated to play organized Tee Ball.