New Holiday Update Features the New UNSF Character, 3 New Maps, 7 New Guns, and 12 Days of In-Game Events! 

Toronto, CANADA – December 15^th, 2011 –G4BOX Inc., a North American publisher and distributor of interactive online entertainment media, released today an update for its free-to-play military shooter, Cross Fire. The free update features the new UNSF character, three new maps in Elimination, Ghost, and Zombie modes, 7 new weapons, and Holiday-themed items and equipment. To mark the release of this festive update, Z8Games is hosting a special “12 Days of Cross Fire” event in which players can complete daily challenges for in-game rewards. For current players, the update will download automatically upon launching Cross Fire. New players can download and play the game for free from: http://crossfire.z8games.com. 

Cross Fire’s holiday-themed December update brings back the annual fan favorite Holiday Elimination Mode map, in addition to two new maps: Venice, an expansive Zombie Mode map, and Bio Facility an all-new Ghost Mode map. The update also introduces the new United Nations Security Force (UNSF) character, available now for purchase from the Cross Fire in-game and web item malls. The Holiday update also brings with it a full arsenal of new weaponry, including the Colt M16A3 light machine gun (GP), the VSK-94 sniper rifle (mission reward), the SL8 sniper rifle (coupon exchange).  Three holiday-skinned items are also available for a limited time only in select holiday crates: the M14EBR-Xmas Permanent, the M249 MINIMI-Xmas Permanent, and the Keris-Xmas Permanent. For a full rundown of the Holiday Update’s content, visit the patch page here: http://crossfire.z8games.com/december_update.aspx. 

A special “12 Days of Cross Fire” event kicks off the update’s holiday festivities, lining up twelve daily challenges for Cross Fire players to complete, each with their own unique in-game rewards. Players that manage to complete six of the twelve challenges will earn the event exclusive, and previously unreleased, AK47-Knife Adv.! Follow the event details as challenges unlock daily at: http://crossfire.z8games.com/12daysofcrossfire.aspx. 

Cross Fire is a free online military first-person shooter for the PC platform. It includes a military ranking system, in-game friends lists, an integrated clan system, deep character customization options and social media integration via the Cross Fire website. More MAPS. More GUNS. More MODES. More HEADSHOTS. Join millions of players online today in the ultimate military FPS experience. 

Cross Fire is part of the Z8Games platform of free-to-play games. 

Cross Fire is free-to-download-and-play. Visit the Cross Fire homepage at: http://crossfire.z8games.com  

For more information about G4BOX visit www.g4box.com.  For more information about the Z8Games lineup of games please visit www.z8games.com.

EARTH DEFENSE FORCE®: INSECT ARMAGEDDON™ NOW AVAILABLE FOR WINDOWS PC ON STEAM

Featuring New Weapons Packs Available for Download for All Armor Types 

D3Publisher (D3P) today announced Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon (EDF) is now available for Windows PC via download on Steam. This marks the first time players will be able to experience EDF for Windows PC and the game will include all of the downloadable content (DLC) previously released.  Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon continues the rich history and hardcore fun of the series and was named “Game of the Month – July 2011”, by Games Radar for the Xbox 360™ video game and entertainment system from Microsoft and PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system. 

In addition, four new Windows PC exclusive weapons packs are available for purchase on Steam.  The weapons packs are titled: The Earth Defense Force Battle Armor Weapon Chest, Trooper Special Issue Enforcer Package, Aerialist Munitions Package, and Tactician Advanced Tech Package.  Each weapons pack will include ten weapons and feature high powered artillery like the Nilas Cryo Pancake Cycler; a devastating ice mortar that blasts enemies up to 30 meters away, the Rav-Tech Vespoid; a nasty acid shotgun based on Ravager tech, and the Neptanzer Linkjump Cinerus; a short-ranged chain lightning weapon developed for the Jet Armor. 

Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon for Windows PC is available at a special holiday 25% off discount starting today through January 2^nd. In addition, the game includes Steam Cloud saving and Steam Achievements. 

To find out more about Earth Defense Force: Insect Armageddon, please visit http://www.namcobandaigames.eu  http://www.edfia.com and facebook.com/EarthDefenseForce.

15 finalists, 9 nations, 1 World Champion!

In winter, Parrot’s AR.Drone fans competed online for the ‘AR.Drone Challenges’ and 15 finalists have been selected out of all participants.

Finalists will attend the CES trade show in Las Vegas in January 2012 and participate in the worldwide Grand Final.

The best pilot will win the status of World AR.Drone Champion and a $5,000 USD prize.

On 12 January 2012, 3 French, 3 Japanese, 2 Chinese, 2 Canadian, 1 Portuguese, 1 German, 1 Russian, 1 South African and 1 American will compete during one day on the AR.Drone Flying zone located Central Plaza, Las Vegas Convention Centre.

Schedule:
·        From 9.30am to 3.00pm: Qualifying rounds
Duel between pilots, giant slaloms in a fanciful city, time trial.

·        3.00pm: The Grand Final
Final stage & prize award ceremony.

Who will win the supreme title?

For more information, visit www.parrot.com

A new show at the Melbourne Planetarium called Tilt will screen these school holidays, taking families on a whirlwind adventure through space to explore the effect of Earth’s tilt on the seasons. 

As the Summer Solstice approaches this December, Scienceworks is preparing to launch the new show, which has been developed in-house by a team of expert designers and scientists. 

“We’re in the final stages of putting together the animation and music for Tilt, ready for the show to be launched on Boxing Day, December 26,” said Dr Tanya Hill, Astronomer for the Melbourne Planetarium. 

“It’s great timing, since Australia is about to experience the Summer Solstice this Thursday – an event that marks the longest day of the year and is a direct result of the Earth’s tilt. 

“It also happens to be the final day of the school term which means the new show will be released in time for children to have a great new experience at Scienceworks over the school holiday period.” 

Tilt tells the story of Annie and her younger brother Max as they work to save the Earth when the seasons start to go crazy. Their journey takes them into space and around the planet as they discover the axis of the Earth and our orbit around the Sun directly impacts the way the world experiences seasons.

“Max has a 60s tin toy robot, Kelvin, who magically transports them into space to get a real perspective on the Earth, its tilt and its orbit,” said Warik Lawrance, Production Designer for the Melbourne Planetarium. 

“We’ve used 3D character animation to bring Annie, Max and Kelvin to life.  Tilt is the first show produced at the Melbourne Planetarium to use such extensive character animation. It’s a technique that’s still developing in the fulldome environment, which is the industry standard for immersive planetarium films.” 

The Melbourne Planetarium is the only place in Australia to produce and distribute its own fulldome planetarium shows, and has award-winning productions screening on domes both nationally and internationally. 

“We’ve been in production on Tilt for the last 2 years and we’re really pleased to now be able to share it with everyone” said the Dr Hill. 

Tilt will run daily at the Melbourne Planetarium at Scienceworks from December 26.

Adult tickets are $16, concession $5 and children $4.50 (includes general admission to Scienceworks).

Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment and KADOKAWA GAMES are excited to reveal the key art for Lollipop Chainsaw! The new front of box shot features the game’s ‘femme brutale’, Juliet Starling. 

This art will also be featured as the main image in Juliet’s Yearbook Tab on the official Lollipop Chainsaw Facebook page. The tab includes the “Juliet’s Head of the Class” yearbook contest where fans will be able create their own gruesome and customised zombie headshot and then join one of the San Romero High’s cliques.  Fans can then vote for their favourite submissions and the top rated portraits will be included inJuliet’s Head of the Class Yearbook and on the front page of the gallery. 

Check out the official Lollipop Chainsaw Facebook page to learn more about Juliet and to gain access to exclusive “killer” downloads. https://www.facebook.com/LollipopChainsaw

Multi-touch PC device makes it easy to go anywhere on the web

Sydney, Australia — December 15th, 2011 — Logitech announced today the Australian availability of the Logitech Wireless Touchpad, which makes it even easier to navigate the web with simple point, scroll and swipe commands.

With multi-touch navigation and intuitive, gesture-based controls, the Logitech® Wireless Touchpad makes PC navigation a breeze. The large touch surface allows plenty of room for gesture controls. Since there are no cords, there’s no clutter and no hassles. The touchpad can sit anywhere on a desk or table-top and with the plug-and-forget Logitech® Unifying receiver inserted into a computer’s USB port the device is ready to go. Plus, the receiver stays in the computer and enables connectivity with up to five other compatible devices.

“The Logitech Wireless Touchpad is perfect for people who want to surf the Web in a more fun and natural way,” said Annabelle Woods, Logitech’s General Manager, Australia. “It lets Web surfers flick through websites and effortlessly scan long pages – making browsing easier than ever.”

The Logitech® Wireless Touchpad’s multi-touch navigation offers up to four-finger gestures and swipes to scroll pages, jump tabs and switch applications. Advanced 2.4 GHz wireless virtually eliminates delays, dropouts and interference. The device also has up to four months of battery life and an LED indicator light that indicates when the touchpad is on and when batteries are running low.

Pricing and Availability The Logitech Wireless Touchpad is in stores now, for a suggested retail price of $69.95. It is available at Big W, Bing Lee, Dick Smith Electronics, The Good Guys, JB Hi-Fi and Officeworks,  For more information please visit www.logitech.com.

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About Logitech
Logitech is a world leader in products that connect people to the digital experiences they care about. Spanning multiple computing, communication and entertainment platforms, Logitech’s combined hardware and software enable or enhance digital navigation, music and video entertainment, gaming, social networking, audio and video communication over the Internet, video security and home-entertainment control. Founded in 1981, Logitech International is a Swiss public company listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (LOGN) and on the Nasdaq Global Select Market (LOGI).

Monster Pictures are delighted to announce that THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE 2: FULL SEQUENCE has been resubmitted to the Australian Government Classification Board and has again been granted an R 18 + certificate with consumer advice that warns ‘High impact themes, violence and sexual violence’.

The film has been modified by thirty seconds, these modifications were done with the utmost care so as to not damage the integrity of the film – we are absolutely confident that this is the case.

Monster Pictures feels that this decision highlights the absurdity of Classification Review Board’s decision to ban the film in the first place.

We would like to take this opportunity to applaud the Director of the Classification Board for this decision and to express how pleased we are that the film is being judged on the merit of its content rather than the hype surrounding the film.

Melbourne’s Cinema Nova will begin screening the modified version of the film beginning Boxing Day 2011.

The DVD and Blu-Ray of the film will be released late February 2012.

Kristian Connolly, General Manager at Cinema Nova offered the following comment…

“The Australian classification system, one of the few of its type in the world, has served cinemagoers well for decades. Flip-flops such as this border on satire, recalling the shrieks of Helen Lovejoy on The Simpsons; “Won’t somebody please think of the children?!” Guess what? They did and that’s why it was rated R18+ in the first place.”

Already Pegged A Holiday Hit By Consumers And Industry, Skylanders Spyro’s AdventureTM Spreads Its Wings At universe.skylanders.com

Sydney, Australia – December 14, 2011 – Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure adds yet another imaginative dimension to kids’ social play with the beta launch of Skylanders Spyro’s UniverseTM, a vast virtual world for kids to engage with Skylanders characters and their fellow players. Activision Publishing, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Blizzard, Inc. (Nasdaq: ATVI), today pulled back the curtain on this dramatic expansion of the franchise, further bolstering the variety and value of one of the most innovative and platform-inclusive digital playgrounds ever devised.

“We conceived Skylanders as a unique, multi-platform experience from the beginning, simultaneously grand in scope yet incredibly easy for kids to embrace,” said Eric Hirshberg, CEO of Activision Publishing. “You can play with friends in the real world or on consoles, Nintendo 3DS, Mac or PC, and now on the web in Skylanders Spyro’s Universe. If there’s a screen where kids play, we want the Skylanders to come to life there. This also further enhances the play options of every Skylander character. ”

Found online at universe.skylanders.com, Skylanders Spyro’s Universe is a fantasy realm of floating islands designed to encourage world-building, exploration and friendly competition. Kids can craft and customize their own Skylands, play mini-games like Sheep Shot, Sky Defense and Castle Assault, rendezvous with friends and investigate Skylands far and wide, or manage their toy collection and earn achievements. Players who already own the game or figures can input the code supplied with each interaction figure, or use the Portal of PowerTM to bring them to life inside the universe. Those who don’t can join the fun simply by creating a free online account. Eon, the helpful Skylanders guide, will provide new visitors with a digital starter kit and an array of new adventures to discover over time.

Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure is swiftly becoming one of the holiday season’s must-have gifts for the younger set. The game was recently voted K-Zone magazine’s Toy of the Year, and is being touted as one of the most exciting and inspired entertainment properties of 2011.

For more information and free registration, please visit www.universe.skylanders.com

Tasmanian state primary and secondary schools, state post-secondary colleges, state libraries, online access centres and departmental staff equipped with unrivalled security

SYDNEY, Australia – Symantec – Dec. 15, 2011 – Symantec Australia today announced that the Tasmanian Department of Education has selected Symantec Endpoint Protection to secure 40,000 personal computers and 700 servers.

“The Department selected Symantec because of its strong track record in guarding large-scale infrastructures,” said David Briggs, Manager of IT Infrastructure. “Symantec Endpoint Protection fulfilled our requirement to secure Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X and Linux systems. It also demonstrated flexibility to secure newer operating systems, including Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2, as well as mobile devices.”

Symantec Endpoint Protection gives the Department enterprise-wide protection against viruses, worms, Trojans, botnets, rootkits, spyware and adware.

The Department of Education previously ran an older version of Symantec Endpoint Protection across 350 locations around Tasmania, including all state primary and high schools, state post-secondary colleges, corporate staff, state public libraries, adult education facilities and online access centres. The Department of Education purchased Symantec Endpoint Protection through Symantec Partner Alphawest, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Optus, after an extensive Request for Tender (RFT) process earlier this year. In mid-2012, the Department of Education will also be deploying Symantec Endpoint Protection 12 across its environment.

According to Craig Scroggie, vice president and managing director, Pacific region, Symantec, the Department can benefit from features such as Symantec Insight, the reputation-based security technology that identifies new threats as they are created by tracking the age, prevalence and security rating of nearly every program file on the internet.

“It’s crucial for educational institutions to provide students and staff with state-of-the-art defence against all types of attacks,” said Scroggie. “Symantec Endpoint Protection is one of the fastest, most powerful endpoint protection security solutions available on the market today. It integrates essential security tools into a single, high performance agent with a single management console and provides leading protection without comprising performance.”

Preparing for the mobile future of education

Symantec Endpoint Protection helps the Department of Education maintain a safe and managed computer-based learning environment that is compatible with Microsoft software packages such as Windows, Internet Explorer and Office. It also works with other browsers such as Firefox and Safari, and web-based email systems such as Hotmail and Gmail.

Securing this environment helps protect confidential student and staff information stored on staff laptops, mobile devices and desktops.

“As online learning continues to become more integrated with traditional classroom learning and mobile devices become more prevalent in the classroom, we’ll see a need for increased, flexible and proactive security as provided by Symantec Endpoint Protection,” said Briggs.

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About Alphawest
Alphawest, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Optus, is one of only ten Certified Symantec Partners in Australia. It specialises in helping corporate and government organisations align security measures and technology to business needs.  More information is available at .http://www.alphawest.com.au/

About Business Solutions from Symantec
Symantec helps organisations secure and manage their information-driven world with endpoint security, messaging security, web security, data protection, identity authentication and security management solutions.

About Symantec
Symantec is a global leader in providing security, storage and systems management solutions to help consumers and organisations secure and manage their information-driven world. Our software and services protect against more risks at more points, more completely and efficiently, enabling confidence wherever information is used or stored. More information is available at www.symantec.com.