MSN to Webcast Nokia New Year's Eve Party

Nokia has announced that MSN will be the exclusive online distributor of the Nokia New Year's Eve, a global music celebration which will take place in five party capitals of the world on December 31.

Exclusive performances from international artists including the Black Eyed Peas, Scissor Sisters, Nelly Furtado, John Legend, and Atomic Kitten will be streamed live and on demand at no cost to viewers here

Nokia New Year's Eve embodies our objective of connecting people to their passions. We expect this will be the biggest global New Year's Eve music celebration with more than 1.3 million expected to attend," says Jo Harlow, senior vice president, marketing for Nokia. "With MSN, we are greatly expanding the global reach of Nokia New Year's Eve. Now, music lovers around the globe can enjoy their favourite artists — live, as they countdown the final seconds of 2006, or on demand when the moment strikes them."

In addition to the live concerts on December 31, beginning today, the online webcast will offer exclusive artist content, including interviews with the Black Eyed Peas, Scissor Sisters and many other international artists to view on demand. Other Nokia New Year's Eve content, including artist lists and updates, will also be available through Windows Live Messenger beginning today. A customized Windows Live Messenger tab will be integrated into every Windows Live Messenger application in the five host cities — Hong Kong, Mumbai, Berlin, Rio de Janeiro and New York — where fans will be able to connect directly to the Nokia New Year's Eve site by clicking the tab.

Nokia New Year's Eve concerts in Hong Kong, Mumbai, Berlin and Rio de Janeiro will be Webcast live on MSN and can be viewed on http://www.nokianewyearseve.com, starting Dec. 31 evening from Hong Kong.