NEW YORK, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Atari, Inc., one of the world’s most recognized brands and a third-party video game publisher and distributor, has unleashed Smash Court Tennis(TM) 3 for the Xbox 360(R) video game and entertainment system from Microsoft, the latest star-packed tennis smash in the renowned series from NAMCO BANDAI Games. Featuring many of the biggest names in tennis including Roger Federer and Maria Sharapova, highly realistic visuals, a host of gameplay enhancements and online play via Xbox LIVE(R) online entertainment network, Smash Court Tennis(TM) 3 has smashed its way into North American retailers. Smash Court Tennis(TM) 3 is rated E for Everyone and available for a suggested retail price of $39.99 for the Xbox 360 and available on Xbox LIVE.
The first in the revered tennis simulation series for the new console generation, Smash Court Tennis(TM) 3 for Xbox 360 tests the player’s skills against 16 of the world’s finest international tennis players. From established stars such as Roger Federer, Maria Sharapova, Rafael Nadal, Martina Hingis, and recently retired Justine Henin, to rising talents including Italy’s Andreas Seppi and Nicole Vaidisova of the Czech Republic, each player has their own strengths and weaknesses which come into play on the game’s painstakingly rendered courts.
Making the most of the power of Xbox 360, Smash Court Tennis(TM) 3 boasts enhanced graphics including improved player animations, realistic shadows, skin shaders and High Dynamic Range rendering which combine to deliver a greater level of realism and immersion for the player. A host of customizing options allows players to choose rackets, shoes, hairstyles, skin tone and clothing to create their own unique star of the courts. New gameplay includes a system which lets all players, no matter what their skill level, benefit quickly from the powerful shots and finely honed skills of the star players.
Gameplay modes include Tutorial, Arcade, Pro-Tour, and Exhibition mode where up to four players can go head to head offline. The game also features an online mode allowing players to play online via Xbox LIVE. In addition to Xbox LIVE voice chat and rankings, players can take on opponents in online tournaments and in a range of different matches. Online doubles matches let players team up side by side for a long distance match against another pair, bringing the action and interaction alive like never before.
For more information about Atari’s entire product line up, visit .
About NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe:
NAMCO BANDAI Games Europe S.A.S., is a leading interactive entertainment software publisher based in Cergy-Pontoise, France. The company is a part of the NAMCO BANDAI group of companies known for creating and publishing many of the industry’s top video game franchises including the RidgeRacer(TM), Tekken(TM), SOULCALIBUR(TM), Tamagotchi(TM), Digimon(TM), Dragonball(R) and Naruto(TM) brands.
About Atari, Inc.
New York-based Atari, Inc. is a third-party publisher and distributor of interactive entertainment software in the U.S. The Company’s 1,000 titles include hard-core, genre-defining franchises such as Test Drive(R) and mass-market and children’s franchises such as Dragon Ball Z(R). Atari, Inc. is a majority-owned subsidiary of France-based Infogrames Entertainment SA (Euronext - ISIN: FR-0000052573), the largest interactive games publisher in Europe. For more information, visit .
Safe Harbor Statement
With the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain certain “forward-looking statements” that are made pursuant to the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements in this release are not promises or guarantees and are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause our actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. These statements are based on management’s current expectations and assumptions and are naturally subject to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. We caution you not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied by the statements herein. Some of the factors which could cause our results to differ materially include the following: the loss of key customers; delays in product development and related product release schedules; loss of our credit facility; inability to secure capital; adapting to the rapidly changing industry technology, including new console technology; maintaining relationships with leading independent video game software developers; maintaining or acquiring licenses to intellectual property; fluctuations in the Company’s quarterly net revenues and results of operations based on the seasonality of our industry; the termination or modification of our agreements with hardware manufacturers; and other factors described in our SEC filings.
The Company undertakes no duty to update any forward-looking statements to conform the statement to actual results or changes in the Company’s expectations.
(C) 2008, Atari, Inc. All rights reserved. ATARI and the ATARI logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of Atari Interactive, Inc. or its affiliates.
Microsoft, Xbox, Xbox 360, Xbox Live, the Xbox logos, and the Xbox Live logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries.
The ESRB rating icons are registered trademarks of the Entertainment Software Association.
All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners
Atari, Inc.

ATLANTA, Aug. 19 /PRNewswire/ — Response Mine President Ken Robbins will participate in a panel discussion at the world’s most comprehensive gathering of search engine marketing and optimization-related solutions providers at the 10th annual search engine Strategies Conference on Tuesday, August 19, in San Jose, California.
The panel discussion — ReSearch Online, Purchase Offline — examines techniques and best practices for measuring the larger impact of search in an organization’s marketing mix, as well as how offline marketing activities are driving search behavior and other online customer behaviors.
“SES San Jose affords delegates the largest learning and networking opportunity of the year, as the more than 70 sessions will cover everything that is search-related,” Robbins said.
Ken Robbins, co-founder and president of Response Mine Interactive, has more than 20 years of combined sales and marketing experience. Robbins sits on the Yahoo! Agency Advisory Council and is a member of the Atlanta Interactive Marketing Association (AiMA), search engine Marketing Professional Organization (SEMPO) and Shop.org, a division of the National Retail Federation.
About Response Mine Interactive
Launched in 2002, Response Mine Interactive is an interactive advertising agency specializing in search engine marketing, online retailing and consumer lead generation. The Atlanta-based agency provides Internet marketing campaigns to clients such as Home Depot, Rooms-To-Go, Staples, TravelZoo, Brinks Home Security, Liberty Medical Supply and Maid Brigade. Response Mine is a spin-off of Atlanta-based Bennett Kuhn Varner (BKV) Inc., one of the largest, independent direct response ad agencies in the country. For more information about Response Mine Interactive, call 404-475-0754 or visit .
Contact Information:
Lara Holy
913-901-2119

This release was issued through eReleases(TM). For more information, visit .
Response Mine Interactive

FOUNTAIN VALLEY Calif., Aug. 7 /PRNewswire/ — Kingston Technology Company, Inc., the independent world leader in memory products, today introduced the DataTraveler(R) 400 (DT400) Symantec Pocket Disaster Recovery Kit, a usb Flash drive preloaded with the Symantec Recovery Disk software. The drive allows IT administrators and tech support teams at small to medium-sized businesses to quickly restore individual files or folders from a Windows desktop, laptop or server in the event of a system or hardware failure.
(Photo: )
(Logo: )

A component of Symantec’s award-winning Backup Exec System Recovery product, Symantec Recovery Disk is preloaded on the DT400 and provides many unique features that aid in the recovery of a system failure. These features include full Windows OS command functionality that allows the user quick access to important Windows disk tools and network utilities. The drive is also embedded with Symantec pcAnywhere technology to allow remote access should a system crash on the road.
“With the DT400 Symantec Pocket Disaster Recovery Kit, Kingston and Symantec are giving small- and medium-sized businesses confidence in their disaster recovery strategy,” said Randy Cochran, vice president of channel sales, Symantec. “Users will literally have Windows protection in their pocket and can be up and running in minutes should they encounter a hardware failure, thus saving valuable time and money.”
“Kingston’s usb Flash drives have long been a trusted way to safely and securely transport important documents and files,” said Mark Akoubian, Flash memory business manager, Kingston(R). “Symantec is a world leader in system and data protection for Windows and we’re honored to partner with them by combining our drive with their top-notch recovery disk interface program.”
Users who purchase the Kingston DataTraveler 400 Symantec Pocket Disaster Recovery Kit will also receive discounted pricing for Symantec Backup Exec System Recovery. When combined with Backup Exec System Recovery, the kit provides a complete, disk-based system recovery solution. It allows users to quickly restore their entire system including customized Windows Operating System configurations, applications and files even to dissimilar hardware and virtual environments.
Kingston’s DT400 Symantec Pocket Disaster Recovery Kit is available in capacities up to 8GB and is supported by a five-year warranty and free 24/7 technical support.
Kingston DataTraveler 400 Symantec Pocket Disaster Recovery Kit usb Drive
Capacities and Pricing

Part Number Capacity and Features MSRP (U.S. only)
Subject to change.
KW-U122G-2DAQ (2GB) 2GB DT400 usb Drive $ 19.00
KW-U124G-2DAQ (4GB) 4GB DT400 usb Drive $ 36.00
KW-U128G-2DAQ (8GB) 8GB DT400 usb Drive $ 67.00

Kingston DataTraveler 400 Symantec Pocket Disaster Recovery Kit usb Drive Features and Specifications:
— Capacities*: 2GB, 4GB, 8GB
— Dimensions: 2.58″ x 0.71″ x 0.41″ (65.76mm x 17.98mm x 10.7mm)

– Operating Temperature: 32 degrees F to 140 degrees F (0 degrees C to 60 degrees C)
– Storage Temperature: -4 degrees F to 185 degrees F (-20 degrees C - 85 degrees C)
— Easy: plug and play
— Compliant: Designed to hi-speed usb 2.0 specifications
— Practical: No cap to lose, usb connector protected within case

– Compatible Operating Systems: Windows Vista, Windows 2000 SP4, Windows XP (SP1 and SP2), Mac OS 10.2x and higher (SRD not functional)
– Guaranteed: Five-year warranty
* Please note: Some of the listed capacity is used for formatting and other functions and thus is not available for data storage. For more information, please consult Kingston’s Flash Memory Guide at Kingston.com/Flash_Memory_Guide.
For more detailed information visit the Kingston Web site at: .
About Kingston Technology Company, Inc.
Kingston Technology Company, Inc. is the world’s largest independent manufacturer of memory products. Kingston designs, manufactures and distributes memory products for desktops, laptops, servers, printers, and Flash memory products for PDAs, mobile phones, digital cameras, and MP3 players. Through its global network of subsidiaries and affiliates, Kingston has manufacturing facilities in California, Malaysia, Taiwan, China and sales representatives in the United States, Europe, Russia, Turkey, Ukraine, Australia, New Zealand, India, Taiwan, China, and Latin America. For more information, please call 800-337-8410 or visit .
Kingston and the Kingston logo are registered trademarks of Kingston Technology Corporation. All rights reserved. All other marks may be the property of their respective titleholders.

Kingston Technology Company, Inc.

ROYAL OAK, Mich., Aug. 7 /PRNewswire/ — Some of the country’s top hot rods and classic cruisin’ cars will be up for bid this year at the Woodward Dream Cruise as the world’s largest one-day automotive event holds its very first classic car auction through the American Concours Foundation (ACF).
The ACF is facilitating the online auction, with automotive classics available for bid via the eBay Motors website, to raise money for the police and firefighters funds from the Dream Cruise’s nine host communities. A selection of cars will be on display during the Cruise, Saturday August 16, 2008, at the Woodward “Dream Show” event at Northwood Shopping Center (Woodward and 13 Mile Road) in Royal Oak, MI. The auction will continue through August of 2009.
Vehicle owners participating in the auction may designate a portion of the proceeds from the sale of their vehicle (from 5% to 100%) to the Woodward Dream Cruise. A 501(c)(3) corporation, the American Concours Foundation has raised more than $450,000 for charity through the sale of collector cars over the past three years at such top events as the Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance and Meadow Brook Concours.
For sellers, the ACF handles all aspects of the vehicle sale in a turn-key manner, including inspection, photography, online listings, auction management and post-sale paperwork.
Those interested in consigning vehicles can visit for more information or contact Don Sommer at .
The Woodward Dream Cruise is the world’s largest one-day celebration of car culture, attracting more than 1 million visitors and over 40,000 muscle cars, street rods, custom, collector and special interest vehicles. The 14th annual Dream Cruise is scheduled for Saturday August 16, 2008. Visit .
Woodward Dream Cruise, Inc.

LONDON, August 7 /PRNewswire/ —

- Star Player Will Share his Insights and Interact With Fans From the
Olympics in Beijing

Footbo.com today announced that Alexandre Song of Cameroon and Arsenal
will be blogging and sharing his experiences on Footbo, during the Olympics
where he will be playing for the Cameroonian national team.

Song will be building on his recent success of being named in the best XI
of this year’s African Cup of Nations. “I am really excited to have the
opportunity to represent my country at the Olympics, and I am looking forward
to sharing my experiences on Footbo.com with football fans around the world,”
said the 20 year-old, who can play both as a defender and midfielder.

The Olympics, which begin in Beijing, China on the 8th August 2008, will
see Cameroon begin their campaign for the gold medal in Group D against the
Republic of Korea, Honduras and Italy. Cameroon’s first match will be played
already today, 7th of August against the Republic of Korea.

Alexandre Song’s blog can be read exclusively on http://www.footbo.com.

Footbo offers users a one-stop-solution for all of today’s football
needs:

- Interaction with friends and football fans from around the globe
- Live scores, fixtures and personalized news
- Grading of players’ performances
- Videos and photos
- Team and player profiles - created by the Footbo community
- Blogs and forums
- Fan groups of teams and players
- Management of amateur teams

About Footbo

Footbo is an online social community for football lovers all over the
world. Fans and amateur players can receive customized information, share
content/media, and express their knowledge and emotions. Created by people
who are truly passionate about the beautiful game, Footbo is based in London,
UK.

Press contact: press@footbo.com

LONDON, August 7 /PRNewswire/ —

Footbo

STAMFORD, Conn., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ — Jacqueline Johnson, an expert and frequent lecturer on the wedding, honeymoon and luxury markets, has recently acquired and launched Websites for both prospective brides, grooms and wedding services suppliers at and .
is a Website for couples planning to get married or honeymoon in the Caribbean. MarryCaribbean.com is designed to be the single source for wedding planning in the Caribbean. MarryCaribbean.com focuses exclusively on the Caribbean providing details on:
— Essential wedding planning services
— Passport information
— Marriage laws and customs
— Dining and nightlife
— Shopping
— Activities and all the amenities the Caribbean has to offer

Website for members of professional organizations dedicated to making the Caribbean the number one region for weddings and honeymoons. CaribbeanWeddingAssociation.com encompasses the entire process of creating and organizing weddings from the selection and buying of media, to understanding the importance and strength of the marketplace, serving as a valuable resource for:
— Hoteliers
— wedding coordinators
— Travel agents
— Destination marketers
— Professionals with an interest in targeting the bridal market

With an extensive background in the industry, Johnson has been recognized often for her expertise on the Bridal market. The Caribbean Tourism Organization has awarded Johnson a medal of excellence as one of the 50 most influential persons in the Caribbean, as well as awards for leadership, dedication and outstanding service. She also has been recognized by the Jamaica Tourist Board, the United States Virgin Islands and Conde Nast publications.
Jacqueline Johnson, hailing from the Island of Jamaica, is one of the most knowledgeable speakers in the bridal industry. Her company is the only Black-women-owned business in the wedding market. As a Certified Travel Counselor (CTC) she has also held the position of Executive Travel Director of Brides, Modern Bride, Elegant Bride, Brides Destination Weddings & Honeymoons and Brides.com, and with Bridal Guide as VP/Associate Publisher.
Her 20-plus-year career has spanned the full spectrum from the advertising agency where she implemented marketing/media strategies for various travel accounts, to the field of consumer and trade magazines where she further honed her skills. Her vast knowledge of travel agents, wholesalers and tour operators forms the crucial element in her chosen specialty and life’s passion: travel marketing with a focus on the weddings and honeymoon market.
Johnson currently is a member of several organizations: the Association of Travel Marketing Executives, Caribbean Tourism Organization, and Caribbean Hotel Association, to name a few. She is the Chairman of the CTO Foundation, an organization that raises funds to further the education of Caribbean citizens who have demonstrated a career commitment to tourism.
Visit for complete Caribbean wedding planning information. Suppliers interested in becoming a member of the Caribbean wedding Association should visit . For more information contact Jacqueline Johnson at 203-961-9240; e-mail: .
Jacqueline Johnson

TYLER, Texas, Aug. 5 /PRNewswire/ — This week marks the launch of a consumer Web site designed to have the most comprehensive listing of new and used vehicles for sale in America. By listing all dealer inventories at a basic service level for free and allowing all “For sale by Owner” individual listings to be placed for free, EveryCarListed.com(TM) has created the ultimate online marketplace for vehicles.
(Logo: )
“EveryCarListed.com will become the premier destination for the nation’s used vehicle shoppers,” according to the company’s Chief Executive Officer Darrell Campbell. “Because of agreements with Original Equipment Manufacturers like GM, Ford, Chrysler and Dodge, we can provide consumers with every new and used vehicle made by those companies.” With additional vehicles being listed by dealers and individuals, EveryCarListed.com will soon be the leader in online auto sales.
Shoppers can search locally or nationwide on the site using 12 search categories including make/model/year, price, mileage, fuel economy and other features. A value graph gives vehicle comparisons by mileage and price, and the map view indicates where each desired vehicle is located. Listings on the site are updated daily, so when an individual or dealer lists a vehicle or inventory changes at the dealership, each vehicle entering or leaving the marketplace is posted to the EveryCarListed.com site. Shoppers can also search for vehicles using mobile applications.
The Internet outpaces all other traditional media in supplying information to auto buyers, and EveryCarListed.com benefits consumers by responding to the growing number of online vehicle shoppers. It benefits individuals by offered a broadly-viewed free site on which to advertise, and it benefits dealers by listing all inventories for free with the Bronze basic listing, or at one low monthly price through the optional Silver and Gold listings programs.
“Our business plan follows the Yellow Page industry model of all basic listings for free,” states Campbell. “The basic service level will always be free. Dealers who upgrade to Silver or Gold listings can offer unique content to shoppers. There are eight photos per vehicle in the Silver Program, and 32 photos per vehicle in the Gold program along with a unique video walk-around that lets shoppers see the vehicle’s interior and exterior.”
Campbell said consumers will be directed to EveryCarListed.com in the Verizon(R) Yellow Pages directories, thanks to collaboration with Idearc Media, publishers of the Verizon Yellow Pages and home to Superpages.com. Digital Motorworks, Inc. (DMi), an independent subsidiary of ADP Dealer Services Group based in Austin, TX provides vehicle data management, including vehicle photos and videos, for the site.
About EveryCarListed.com
EveryCarListed.com is the nation’s largest free-listings Web site for automobiles, designed to contain all new and used vehicles for sale in the U.S. Its business model is like that of the Yellow Pages, which has a highly utilized model of free listings. Including all dealer inventories at a basic service level free of charge and allowing all For sale by Owner listings to be placed for free, EveryCarListed.com creates the ultimate online automobile marketplace. Millions of current vehicle listings, updated daily, and signed agreements with Original Equipment Manufacturers (OEMs) as well as GM Certified Used Vehicles and other strategic partners, ensure that when inventory changes at local dealerships, the most up-to-date vehicle information will be posted to the Web site. EveryCarListed.com has its headquarters in Tyler, TX. For more information visit or call 903-593-5400.

EveryCarListed.com

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Aug. 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Actel Corporation today announced that a mixed-signal Actel Fusion-based wireless auto-monitoring temperature control design from Xi’an Institute of Posts and Telecommunications won the top prize in the first ever Actel Cup design contest in China. The winning design was chosen by a judging committee from among the 390 submitted designs ranging from automotive and medical to power management solution designs. Demonstrations of the winning designs were available at an awards ceremony in Guangzhou in June.
Anthony Hsiah, Actel’s country manager in China, said, “The creativity of the Actel Cup design contest submissions and the students’ ability to fully utilize the innovative features of our mixed-signal FPGAs was impressive. It was clear that, through hands-on experience, we can assist students to become valuable contributors to China’s rapidly growing electronics industry and further establish the mixed-signal Actel Fusion FPGA as a suitable option for an incredibly broad range of applications.”
In second place, the design from Ocean University of China utilized the mixed-signal Fusion FPGA to enable the remote detection of smoke, gas density, and environmental temperatures within the home. Awarded to the team from South China Normal University, the third place design was a hand language recognition system for mute and deaf persons that could also be utilized for gaming applications. Other participating universities included Huazhong University of Science & Technology and Nanjing University of Science & Technology.
Contest judge and president and general manager of Guangzhou ZLGMCU Development Co., Ltd., George Zhou Li Gong said, “In China, designers are beginning to recognize the critical importance of FPGAs as key enabling technologies for the future. The Actel Cup design contest offered evidence of the innovation possible when utilizing mixed-signal FPGAs.”
About Fusion
The award-winning, mixed-signal Actel Fusion FPGAs incorporate analog functions, embedded flash and FPGA fabric in a single chip. For embedded applications, the combination of Fusion and industry-standard cores, such as an 8051 microcontroller or the ARM Cortex-M1 processor, enables intelligent system and power management, representing a flexible, low-cost alternative for many telecommunications and industrial control applications.
About Actel
Attacking power consumption from both the chip and the system levels, Actel Corporation’s innovative FPGAs and programmable system chip solutions enable power-efficient design. The company is traded on the NASDAQ National Market under the symbol ACTL and is headquartered at 2061 Stierlin Court, Mountain View, Calif., 94043-4655. For more information about Actel, visit .
The Actel name, logo and Actel Fusion are trademarks of Actel Corporation. All other trademarks and service marks are the property of their respective owners.
Actel Corporation

NORWALK, Ohio, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ — The investment firm of IRG Capital Group, LLC, an affiliate of Industrial Realty Group, in partnership with Blackbird Capital Partners has signed a letter of intent to purchase the assets of Norwalk furniture Corp. Meanwhile, the company has fully resumed operations throughout the 106-year-old custom furniture manufacturing and retail business. The prospective new owners request that terms of the sale remain confidential.
“IRG Capital Group and Blackbird Capital are a perfect match for this deal because they both believe strongly in the value of growing this company, the strength of its employees and the tradition of Norwalk’s product,” said Domenic Aversa, acting CEO and architect of the company’s restructuring plan. “These investors are committed to building on the great tradition this company has represented for more than a century, and both have a long history of doing business in Ohio and investing in Ohio-based companies.”
Financial issues triggered by the national housing crisis caused Norwalk to temporarily suspend production on July 21, until the company could procure capital needed to implement a restructuring plan. Nearly 900 workers were temporarily sent home that week until a workable solution became feasible.
After days of negotiations with a number of prospective investors a deal was finalized on Aug. 4. This will allow the restructuring plan to be put into action and reposition the company for profitability by the fourth quarter of 2008.
Part of the plan includes a $2-million, low-interest state loan facilitated by Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland and Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, who helped facilitate negotiations of the purchase. A matching loan also was provided by Mayor Paul Walker of Fulton, Mississippi, and Greg Deakle, executive director of Itawamba County Development Council in Mississippi. Norwalk’s principal bank, Comerica, has agreed to continue funding Norwalk Furniture.
“Lt. Gov. Fisher, the Ohio Department of Development, the city of Fulton, Mississippi, and the Mississippi county of Itawamba were all instrumental in making this work for investors, while preserving the company’s long-term future,” Aversa said. “The unions and all our employees were very supportive throughout this difficult transition.”
“We are happy to offer assistance and to help facilitate a public-private partnership that will enable Norwalk furniture to remain a strong business now and in the future,” said Lt. Governor Fisher, who also serves as Director of the Ohio Department of Development. “We are committed to their success.”
Charles Rowe Jr., president of IRG Capital Group, will assume the interim role of the company’s CEO, while a permanent replacement is being sought. Rowe served formerly as CEO of The Sharon Companies, Ltd. in Akron, Ohio and QualServ Corporation in Kansas City, Missouri.
IRG Capital Group, based in Akron, Ohio, is a private investment firm affiliated with Industrial Realty Group, which has controlling interests in a variety of operating entities across a broad industry range, including mining, trucking and food services, while actively seeking additional investment opportunities both in distressed businesses and venture capital scenarios.
Industrial Realty Group (IRG), with projects in 22 states and affiliate management offices in New York, Chicago, Cleveland, Sacramento and Los Angeles, has over 30 years of adaptive reuse and historic preservation experience that, to date, totals over 70 million square feet of facilities, including numerous former corporate and government installations. IRG acquires, preserves, redevelops, cleans, repositions, and retrofits real estate assets for modern-day use by a sophisticated user base. Based in California, IRG is one of the largest full-service redevelopment companies in the United States.
Blackbird Capital Partners is a private investment firm affiliated with Blackbird Capital Group in Cincinnati, which provides capital to, and acquires, distressed businesses. Blackbird invests in a wide variety of industries and currently owns controlling stakes in technology and paper converting businesses in Ohio.
Norwalk furniture Corporation, founded in 1902, makes quality upholstered furniture sold under the Norwalk, J. Raymond and Hickory Hill trade names. The company also has a network of retail stores, Norwalk — The furniture Idea, which includes company and independently owned franchised furniture stores throughout the United States and Canada.
For information, visit the Norwalk furniture Web site at .
Norwalk furniture Corporation

NEW YORK, Aug. 4 /PRNewswire/ — soccer club FC Barcelona, FCB Foundation, Malaria No More and the American Youth soccer Organization (AYSO) today announced the “More Than A Club: Kick it to Malaria” initiative. The focus of this global partnership is to raise funds and awareness to help fight malaria and save the lives of children in Africa. Malaria is the number one killer of children in Africa and takes one life every 30 seconds — more than one million every year.
FC Barcelona boasts a roster of some of the world’s best soccer players. The team has long lived by their motto and team philosophy of being “More Than a Club.” Now the storied club will take on the number one killer of children in Africa: malaria. The year-long “Kick it to Malaria” campaign () features five key components:
– FC Barcelona will be participating in a four-on-four soccer tournament at Chelsea Waterside Field in Manhattan on August 5th with each team comprised of at least one FC Barcelona player, one AYSO player, and one supporter, with all proceeds going to the partnership between the club’s Foundation and Malaria No More.
– FC Barcelona and AYSO will invite their more than 600,000 U.S. youth who participate in their soccer programs to get pledges from coaches, parents and communities for the 2008 season to buy $10 bed nets for kids in Africa. AYSO is reaching out to all U.S. soccer kids to be a part of this important initiative.
– FC Barcelona will wear a special edition jersey with the Malaria No More logo on the left shoulder for their U.S. tour, which includes games against Mexican team Chivas Guadalajara in Chicago on August 3 and the New York Red Bulls of MLS on August 6.
– Funds raised through the “Kick it to Malaria” campaign will support malaria control in Africa in cooperation with FC Barcelona Foundation through its children & youth support Program “International Network of Solidarity Centers” (XICS), implemented in more than 11 countries around the world, half of them in Africa. The main objective of the XICS program is to care for vulnerable children and youth through an integral approach, by providing them with education, health care and psychosocial support to make a real impact on their lives and those of their families.
– Fox soccer Channel is donating one bed net for every goal scored on it’s broadcasts during the 2008-09 season and will air PSAs about the campaign featuring players from FC Barcelona, while Fox Sports en Espanol will also make a $10 contribution for each goal scored in its live and premiere telecasts of the Copa Nissan Sudamericana, FIFA Club World Cup, InterLiga, Mexican soccer and Copa Santander Libertadores.
“This is a wonderful opportunity to bring global attention to a problem that is destroying lives and economies in Africa,” said Peter Chernin, Chairman, Malaria No More and President and Chief Operating Officer, News Corporation. “Soccer is the most popular sport in the world and having organizations like FC Barcelona and AYSO helping to spread the message will make a huge difference and translate to thousands of lives saved.”
“FC Barcelona is deeply committed to our world’s main challenges through its Foundation program’s by using sport as a powerful tool to benefit vulnerable children & youth to offer them a future of hope and well-being,” said Joan Laporta, President of FC Barcelona. “In this case, soccer unites African and American children and gives them a unique opportunity to follow their dreams.”
“AYSO exists to develop life skills not just soccer skills,” said AYSO National Executive Director and former captain of the U.S. Men’s Olympic soccer team, Rick Davis. “We want AYSO kids to be fans of soccer and look up to players like Thierry Henry, Rafael Marquez, Lionel Messi and the rest of the FC Barcelona players. We want to show our kids that they can join with these famous players to make a difference in the world. Helping to save the lives of other children across the world can have a real impact on their lives.”
The program will be coordinated through the new campaign website and top fundraisers will have the chance to win FC Barcelona jerseys and the grand prize of a trip to Camp Nou, FC Barcelona’s home stadium in Barcelona for a game.
Media Contacts:
Martin Edlund Justin Edelman
Director of Communications, Vice President, Edelman Sports
Malaria No More (212) 704-4430
(212) 710-5891
Malaria No More