<A HREF="http://news.zdnet.com/2100-1009_22-6226913.html?tag=nl.e550">A computer tape containing personal data of 650,000 customers</A> of about 230 retailers including J.C. Penney is missing, credit card issuer GE Money said on Friday.

Richard Jones, a spokesman for the General Electric unit, said a backup computer tape being stored at a facility operated by Iron Mountain, an information protection and storage company, had been lost. Jones added that Social Security numbers of about 150,000 people were also included on the tape.