As I said, it is not an Americanism, but a usage that has never left us. You are aware that the British used "period" for "full stop" at one time, are you? We don't do that any more, but the emphasis meaning has remained. And the Americans, as in many aspects of their language, have retained an old meaning, not invented a new one. Language works in these mysterious ways. Interesting you use the American spelling of "program", incidentally.   11:28, 25 Feb 2005 (UTC)