How's this:

$html .= qq[<select name="foo">];
for ('option1:One', 'option2:Two') {
    my ($val, $desc) = split /:/;
    my $sel = ($val eq $existing_value) ? ' selected' : '';
    $html .= qq[<option value="$val"$sel>$desc];
}
$html .= qq[</select>];
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    -- Chip Salzenberg, Free-Floating Agent of Chaos