REDMOND, Wash., June 16, 1997 — MSN
™
, The Microsoft Network, and U2 today announced the launch of the band’s first official Web site, http://U2popmart.MSN.com/,
to debut Friday, June 20, with
“Pop Invasion,”
a special live one-hour webcast, where music fans around the world can log on to hear a live interview with the band as well as view digital photographs of the interview. MSN is constructing the site, to grow with and include the current PopMart tour, the
“POP”
album and U2 in general.
Although there are well over 1,000 U2-related Web sites, this is the first to directly involve U2. Innovative and highly interactive, the site will be available on the Internet free of charge (connect-time charges may apply). As the PopMart tour continues and changes, so will the site, and it is expected to be one of the most animated destinations on the Web.
Features include the following:
-
Content includes constantly updated information, rare photos, up-to-the minute news, competitions, multimedia games, live interviews of the band and a world of interactive band-related content.
-
Special features include Daily Pop (an interactive tour map that traces the path of the tour including live weather updates, stadium capacity and support act information, and gives concert dates and times); Pop Fly Cam (360-degree tour shots from locations on the PopMart stage set, including a band’s-eye view from the stage; PopMart tour insider’s diary; Special Webcasts (live links from the PopMart shows and live chats for the duration of the tour); PopMart Radio (fans listen to U2 Web radio and vote on their favorite U2 records to influence play listing and rotation); and
“POP – The Album”
(audio and video clips, photos from the studio, and interviews with people involved in the making of
“POP”
).
U2popmart.MSN.com will display continually rotating elements based on the design of the PopMart tour. Fans can click all parts of the main interface, linking them to areas around the site. With one click, fans can peer through a live camera pointed at the stage, where they can then adjust the camera angle or zoom in and out. Another icon displays tour news and updates.
The webcast
“Pop Invasion,”
which will take place Friday, June 20, between 6 and 7 p.m. PDT live from the studios of KROQ in Los Angeles, will launch the site. Live audio and video of the band’s interview will be available at U2popmart.MSN.com, and fans will also be able to listen to the full one-hour special on the radio (the entire hour will be available on satellite for live audio broadcast to radio stations worldwide).
“U2 represents a rare combination of passion, style and a fearless capacity for innovation – a perfect match for MSN,”
said Bob Bejan, executive producer of MSN.
“With U2popmart.MSN.com, MSN is bringing the best, most original programming to the Internet.”
“With each new tour we break ground – this time it’s cyberspace, by far the biggest stage we could ever play,”
said U2’s manager Paul McGuinness.
“There’s no better way to go ‘POP’ than by playing to the millions of fans on the Internet.”
U2’s 14-month PopMart tour began April 25 in Las Vegas, and will visit more than 80 cities worldwide.
“POP,”
the band’s eighth studio album, was released March 4 by Island Records.
About MSN
The award-winning MSN is the third-largest online service in the world, offering valuable services, rich communications and communities, and compelling entertainment on the Internet.
MSN also provides hundreds of special-interest forums and bulletin boards and such high-quality services and Web shows as the Microsoft® Encarta® multimedia encyclopedia, the Expedia
™travel service, Star Trek: Continuum® , Disney’s Daily Blast
™
and Disney’s Family.com
™
, the Slate
™
online magazine, the CarPoint
™
online automotive service, the Microsoft Investor online investing service, and up-to-date news and information from MSNBC News. The MSN home page can be reached at http://www.MSN.com/ . Additional press information is available at http://press.MSN.com/ .
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 with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
Microsoft, MSN, Encarta, Expedia, Slate and CarPoint are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
Star Trek: Continuum is a registered trademark of Paramount Pictures.
Disney’s Daily Blast and Family.com are trademarks of Disney Online.
Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.
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