Microsoft’s Mungo Park Goes Back To Vietnam With Noted Journalist Robert Scheer and Director Oliver Stone

REDMOND, WA — June 9, 1997 – No one who lived through the era, at home or in the war zone, is indifferent to the image of Vietnam. Thirty years after a devastating land war, Mungo Park
™
,
Microsoft’s online adventure magazine (http://mungopark.com) explores the changes that have come to Vietnam in its June issue, Flash: Back to Vietnam .

“The Vietnam War was the first televised war,”
explains Richard Bangs, Mungo Park editor-in-chief.
“And now it’s the setting for some of the first overseas reportage on the Internet via Mungo Park. Today Vietnam is another kind of hot spot, an up-and-coming travel destination that’s being discovered as a country, not as a place of war.”

Noted journalist Robert Scheer, syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times , author, consultant on such epic films as Nixon , and one of the pioneering journalists who reported from Vietnam and Cambodia in the ’60s, returns to the country for the first time in almost 30 years to tell and show the world how things have changed. Scheer is the voice of June’s live expedition,
Flash
: Back to Vietnam”
exclusively on Mungo Park (http://mungopark.com) .

Virtual explorers can follow Scheer live, June 13-24, on his journey back to the former battlegrounds and killing fields, where he will contrast the struggling Indochina of the war years with the modern phoenix rising today. In a series of 10 exclusive daily reports from the field, Scheer will probe the changes that have come to the region in this new era of adventure.

“I’m going back to see a country at peace instead of war. That’s incredibly exciting for me,”
said Scheer.
“I don’t know how I’ll feel when I’m actually there. I left a war torn country 30 years ago. Vietnam was such a terrible waste of human life. I want to move beyond the trauma of war. It’s amazing how human beings can conquer adversity and move on.”

Live Internet Chat with Director Oliver Stone

As part of this special program, join two-time Academy Award winning Director Oliver Stone ( Platoon and Born on the Fourth of July), for a live Internet chat on June 24th at 7:00 p.m. PST on (http://mungopark.com) . Stone will discuss his thoughts on the Vietnam War, its impact on American culture, and the ’60s.

Flash: Back to Vietnam,

Time Tripping

The June issue of Mungo Park is a multimedia trip on the Internet that will transport virtual travelers back in time to the year 1967. It was the era of Vietnam, race riots, free love and social experimentation. Never before had the generation gap seemed more pronounced. Mungo Park brings the music, politics, fashion and subculture of the Age of Aquarius to the World Wide Web in a rich multimedia venue. Here’s what can be found on Mungo Park in June.

Editorials…

Learn about the culture and history of Southeast Asia. Find out why the Cultural Revolution couldn’t suppress the ancient Chinese sport of Cricket fighting. Discover why Cambodia’s Khmer dancers continue the tradition of the now disbanded royal harem. Experience Asia through the camera lens as Mungo Park takes a cinematic look at the region and its conflicts.

Wild Lit…

Vietnam veterans Bill Broyles, screenwriter of the film Apollo 13 ; and Nelson DeMille, author of eight best-sellers, share personal accounts of their own journeys back after the war.

Lit Lounge…

Listen to audio commentary by award-winning writers Robert Stone, Tom Robbins, and Charles Johnson sharing their thoughts about Vietnam and what life was like in the
“make love, not war”
generation.

Sgt. Pepper And More…

It was a turning point in the direction of Rock & Roll music and the Beatles were at the forefront. Hear the music that defined the times…Jimi Hendrix, The Doors, Cream, The Monkees and more.

No Mission Was Impossible On Television…

What were Americans watching on TV in 1967? Find out what the top 10 television shows were and view scenes from Mission Impossible , I Spy , and the Ed Sullivan Show.

At The Movies…

It was the year of The Graduate , Bonnie & Clyde, and Cool Hand Luke . See and hear classic scenes from the most popular motion pictures of 1967.

Groovy Threads…

From hippie chicks with long hair and love beads to bouffanted babes in micro minis and go-go boots – fashion never looked so cool. Flashback to the fashion scene of ’67.

Flash: Back to Vietnam,

Mungo Park Web-Site Access Made Easier

Now Mungo Park is fully accessible to any frame based browser. Netscape Navigator users are no longer required to download plug-ins to navigate through the web-site or to view the majority of the site’s content. Plug-ins will only be needed for more advanced multimedia features like the
“Time Tripping”
retrospective and viewing video clips.

Since September 1996, Mungo Park has taken online adventurers on the first-ever descent of the Tekeze River in Ethiopia; in search of the Queen of the Lovedu, a legendary Bantu tribe of women; into space aboard Atlantis space shuttle mission STS-81; diving the coral reefs of Fiji with Jean-Michel Cousteau, and through the remote and treacherous rain forests of the Darien Gap.

Mungo Park
(http://mungopark.com) is available on the World Wide Web and features an interactive expedition program, live Internet chats, a famous-author series, and regular columns from well-known journalists. Named for the famous eighteenth-century Scottish explorer who discovered the Niger River and mysteriously disappeared while navigating its waters, Mungo Park is about exploring the world – both firsthand and online.

Mungo Park is accessible free of charge on the Internet and MSN, The Microsoft Network (connect time charges may apply). Mungo Park is also a featured part of Microsoft®
Expedia travel services. Users can log on to Mungo Park at .

To access Mungo Park, users need World Wide Web access, with a 14.4-kbs or higher modem recommended. A frames-enabled browser, FutureSplash and Real Audio plug-ins are recommended. Mungo Park is best experienced with Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 (or above) and Netscape Navigator 3.0 or higher. Both Macintosh and Windows®
platforms are supported.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed to make personal computing easier and more enjoyable.

  • Microsoft, Expedia, MSN, Mungo Park, and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of the Microsoft Corporation in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other products and company names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

  • To use Mungo Park, users need World Wide Web access, with a 14.4-kbs or higher modem recommended. Users can access Mungo Park using Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or Netscape Navigator 3.0.

Note to the editor: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please check out Microsoft’s corporate information pages, at http://microsoft.com/presspass/ .

For additional information, contact
Gerri Kelly, Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, (312) 240-2743, [email protected]

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