HONG KONG, Dec. 10, 2007 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- Hong Kong-based Artificial Life, Inc. (OTCBB:ALIF) (www.artificial-life.com), a leading provider of award-winning mobile 3G technology and applications, today announced an exclusive four year license deal with Argentine soccer star Lionel Andres Messi to produce a series of interactive mobile games based on Leo Messi's image and likeness. The deal was carried out directly with the player Leo Messi, the communications group GRUPO N, and its image rights division STARTEGIC, a company specialized in innovative licensing and image rights strategy.
Despite his youth, Leo Messi, who is just 20 years old and born in June 1987, has been recognized for his exceptional talent and won many major awards. To mention but a few:
* Argentinian Player of the Year: 2005 * World Soccer Young Player of the Year: 2006 * Best foreign player in the Spanish La Liga: 2007 * Copa America Best Young Player: 2007
Leo Messi has also been voted in the top 3 for best footballer of 2007, along with Kaka, and Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi has already been compared to Diego Maradona, one of the greatest soccer players of all time being labeled by the Spanish press as "Messidona" and Maradona himself has indeed called Messi his "successor." Currently Messi plays for FC Barcelona in Spain and was only 17 years old when he scored the first goal for his club.
The Company announced that it will produce at least one to two mobile games each year. Among the game types produced will be real-time 3D interactive games, 3G games as well as a series of 2G and 2D games for lower grade handsets. Distribution of the games will be worldwide through carriers and resellers and on Artificial Life's own mobile portal: www.botme.com.
"Leo is one of the top soccer players in the world. Despite his young age he has already shown tremendous performances for the Argentine national team as well as for his club FC Barcelona. He will be one of the key players in the upcoming Olympic Games soccer competition in Beijing next year and we expect him to be one of the super stars of the 2010 Soccer World Cup. We are looking forward to working with Leo over the next years to produce some exciting mobile games," said Eberhard Schoneburg, CEO of Artificial Life, Inc.
About Artificial Life, Inc.
Artificial Life, Inc. (OTCBB:ALIF) is a public U.S. corporation headquartered in Hong Kong with offices in Berlin (EMEA headquarters) and Tokyo. We are a leading global full service provider of award winning mobile technology, mobile TV, content, games and business applications (see also our Company's homepage: www.artificial-life.com; and our m-commerce portal: www.botme.com).
Forward-Looking Statements:
This press release contains "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such forward-looking statements include, without limitation, statements regarding our future results of operations, financial condition and business prospects. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expect," "intend," "plan," "anticipate," "believe," "estimate," "predict," "potential," "continue," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Although such statements are based on our own information and information from other sources we believe to be reliable, you should not place undue reliance on them. These statements involve risks and uncertainties, and actual market trends or our actual results of operations, financial condition or business prospects may differ materially from those expressed or implied in these forward looking statements for a variety of reasons. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, our ability to obtain additional funding to operate and grow our business; the unproven potential of our mobile gaming business model; changing consumer preferences and uncertainty of market acceptance of our products; timely adoption and availability of 3G mobile technology; market acceptance for use of mobile handheld devices to play the interactive games; unpredictable mobile game development schedules; our reliance on a relatively small number of brands; our ability to license brands from others; our dependence upon resellers and telecommunication carriers and operators to distribute our products; our ability to successfully develop, introduce, and sell new or enhanced products in a timely manner; and the timing of new product announcements or introductions by us or by our competitors. For additional discussion of these risks and uncertainties and other factors, please see the documents we file from time to time with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including our Annual Report on Form 10-KSB filed on April 3, 2007. We assume no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, which apply only as of the date of this press release.