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.

Burrp! Debuts for Mumbai and Bangalore

Local search engine, Burrp! has announced its arrival in two city specific versions, for Mumbai and Bangalore. Burrp! will enable Internet surfers, to search for region specific content, ranging from restaurants, nightlife and local eateries. The site will soon expand to include new categories such as local events, movies, gyms and spas.

Co-founder Deap Ubhi says, "Even with the growing density of local businesses and rising purchasing power amongst consumers, there is no reliable online resource that acts as a medium to connect the two. We aim to provide people with lifestyle related information and also be the platform to voice their experience."

The portal will also send business listings information to users' mobile phones, for free, via its 'Send 2 Phone' feature. Moreover, site visitors may post their own reviews, on eateries, cafes or related service in the particular city.Kolkata and Delhi/NCR are the next two cities for which, the site is currently collecting data. Burrp! will soon be created for 11 Indian cities, within the next 6 months.