Empire of Sports

Thursday 5th June/...Justin Hénin, who has been the world’s number one female tennis player since 2006, and held the title of Worldwide Female Athlete of the Year 2007, has recently announced her retirement from real life tennis tournaments and is now enbarking on an exciting new partnership with Empire of Sports, the first massively multiplayer online sports world.

Hénin and her long time coach, Carlos Rodriguez, have put their likenesses into Empire of Sports, through NPCs (Non Player Characters) who will offer players tennis-based missions and teach some advanced tennis techniques – techniques that will be useful in the game as well as in real life.

As the Ambassador of UNESCO, Justine is dedicated to helping young people, both through her international tennis Academy “6th Sense”, and now through Empire of Sports. The world number one believes that both the academy and Empire of Sports present youngsters arenas not only to better their tennis skills but to encourage sportsmanship and positive outlooks for life.

Hénin believes that the “amazing role-playing features of Empire of Sports” will help lead children to act more responsibly and also to take part in real life tennis and also suggests that Empire of Sports could be a great game to encourage gamers to get out and play some real tennis too.

One of the elite gameplay features of Empire of Sports is the model of the human body mechanism, based on the real physiological workings of a human body. This allows gamers to grow the muscles and hone the techniques of their avatar by playing and practicing an array of sports. This model will also teach the gamers to carefully watch their water and energy resources, as well as the fatigue of their avatar and its heart rate. Players who don’t pace their avatar experience “painful” cramps or physical exhaustion. This realistic model will encourage healthy competition as well as showing the true positive effects of playing sports.

Tennis is one of the seven sports that have been currently announced in the massively multiplayer online world of Empire of Sports, along with football, skiing, basketball, bobsleigh, athletics and training.

The game is currently in a “Private Launch” phase. Gamers wanting to join the online community can apply to become one of its VIPs (Very Important Player), through the game’s website. For more information please head to: www.empireofsports.com

About Empire of Sports

Building on the unprecedented rise of persistent gaming worlds, Empire of Sports opens up a completely new realm for gamers and online users: the exciting and thrilling world of sports. At the centre of the gamers’ attention is their virtual representation in the sports world, the avatar or player character. The player assumes the role of a single player character throughout the entire game, which will result in an until now unimagined gaming experience, especially in team sports. The production and the operation of Empire of Sports are maintained by a joint venture founded by Infront Sports & Media and F4 for that purpose: Empire of Sports Ltd.

About Justine Hénin

Born in Liège, Belgium, on the 1st of June 1982, Justine Hénin ( www.justine-henin.be) has been the number one worldwide female tennis player since 2006. In love with tennis since an early age (she entered her first tennis court at the age of 5), Justine Henin has won 41 WTA tournaments, including 4 Roland Garros, 2 US Open, 1 Australian Open, 2 Masters… She has also been Olympic champion at the Athens Games in 2004, chosen world female athlete of 2007 and four time European female athlete of the year.

About Infront Sports & Media

Infront Sports & Media ( www.infrontsports.com) is based in Zug, Switzerland, and is one of the most experienced international sports marketing companies with an exceptional track record on major events. It is recognised for its innovative marketing skills and the provision of specialist services to sport. The Infront Group is targeting sport at the core of the rapidly diversifying entertainment industry. It has a leading position in football and winter sports and is the Host Broadcaster of the 2010 FIFA World Cup™. Its strategy also includes significant expansion in Asia – especially China. Infront has more than 400 employees across the group, with offices in eleven countries.

About F4

F4 ( www.f4-group.com) is a European and Asian company that conceives, develops and operates computer games, and comes from the best of the engineering and computer game worlds. Currently, more than 100 people are developing Empire of Sports at its headquarters in Paris. F4 specializes at delivering virtual worlds aimed at a mainstream audience, in cooperation with a wide range of partners. The company is owned by a group whose activities range from software engineering to scientific research and development.

For more information contact

Anna Larke

Barrington Harvey

Anna.larke@bhpr.co.uk

01462 456780