MUMBAI: Kings XI Punjab (KXIP) players, Brett Lee, Sreesanth, Kumar Sangakkara and Ranadeb Bose together with club co-owner, Preity Zinta, connected with fans from around the world and young previously disadvantaged South African cricket players during an event yesterday in Cape Town, South Africa which launched the club‘s mobile fan club with mig33, the leading global mobile community. The partnership will give KXIP fans the chance to engage directly with each other and KXIP players all via mobile phone.

The event took place in the Nyanga Cricket Stadium in Nyanga Township, just outside Cape Town in South Africa. As one of the oldest townships in the area this community is racked by poverty and has little access to sporting facilities. Over fifty young players from two local schools received the opportunity of a life time when they took on KXIP players in the nets. The KXIP players coached each player giving each youngster the chance to show off their batting and bowling skills. The players also fielded questions from the young cricketers who were eager to question their heroes about the Indian Premier League and cricket in general. Based on these questions a young player was selected by the team to walk with their captain for toss during their inaugural match against the Delhi Daredevils on Sunday.

At the stadium the KXIP players as well as Preity Zinta engaged in a live chat in the mig33 Cricket FanZone. After joining the mobile fan club, KXIP fans can "watch" matches live with other fans on their mobile phones in dedicated chat rooms complete with live ball-by-ball commentary, receive important news updates from the team, meet new friends and buy official KXIP virtual merchandise in the mig33 content store. Members also get access to the KXIP Chat Stadium and chat live with their cricket heroes.

During the live chat Preity Zinta fielded a range of questions from who she considers her best player to whether she would ever make a movie about cricket. Commenting on her experience Preity Zinta says "It was amazing to connect with so many fans from around the world and be so close to them while sitting in South Africa. I hope that our fans will use this platform to ignite passion and support the team during the IPL. I look forward to this association with mig33 and to engaging in future chats with our fans."

Kings XI Punjab fans in India can sign up to the Cricket FanZone by sending "KXIP" to 57575 or by downloading mig33 directly from their phone‘s browser (m.mig33.com/kxip). mig33 works on over 2,000 different mobile phone models.

MUMBAI: Celebrations Galore! UTVi‘s The Autocar Show completes 50 weeks on air this week! The 50th episode is a summation of the great run the show has had so far. Renuka Kirpalani, Editor, The Autocar Show, kick starts the show with a hot exclusive; first look at the not-yet-launched-in-India, Honda‘s all new Jazz! So don‘t forget to tune into the Autocar Show on UTVi, Tuesdays, 10.30 pm.

Renuka will also look back in the rear-view mirror and revisit all the ‘exclusives‘ that the show has put out so far, Honda Accord, Toyota Corolla

, New Honda City, Volkswagen Jetta, Fiat Linea and other hotties that have hit the road last year! The Autocar Show will revisit some of the fun stories that it did in the last one year on this celebratory episode. From Narain Karthikeyan burning rubber in search of the ‘Driver‘s car of the Year‘, to team Autocar getting down and dirty in the monsoons creating and celebrating their own ‘Slush Olympics‘! From Kartikeya Singhee‘s epic ‘Mustang Maharajas‘ journey, to Renuka Kirpalani‘s ‘boat ride‘. It was some hard work and a lot of fun for The Autocar Show! And finally in its signature customary style The Autocar team wrap up the show with some ‘behind-the-scenes action?that‘s guaranteed to bring a smile on your face!

The Autocar team truly believes that ‘with fun comes responsibility‘. They have also initiated their Road Safety Campaign by asking people to belt up. It is also supplementing this initiative with a very cool contest. All one has to do is to answer this very simple question: Who invented the 3 point safety belt? The answers could be sent through E-mail to <autocar@utvi.com> or SMS <AUTO space YOUR ANSWER to 59995>. The winner gets to ‘own‘ a chauffeur driven uber cool Volvo XC90 over one weekend! The urbane Volvo XC90 won the North American Car of the Year award and Motor Trend magazine‘s Sport/Utility of the Year for 2003.

MUMBAI: Ahead of the General Elections, MySpace, the premier social portal is giving the Indian youth a platform to voice the issues that concern them through its initiative- ?India Fights Back?. This April, MySpace ?India Fights Back? has associated with eminent youth leader Priya Dutt on http://www.myspace.com/indiafightsback to raise awareness amongst the youth about the difference that each vote makes to the bigger picture.

Launched in late 2008, MySpace ?India Fights Back? has continually facilitated freedom of expression and aspires to steadily create a movement that brings about a positive change amongst the youth. Known for being technology savvy, it is Priya Dutt?s endeavour to use this medium to trigger the need for a better India amongst the youth and educate them about the importance of voting!

Ms. Dutt will interface with the youth on MySpace ‘India Fights Back‘ using photos, audio, text & even video blogs on http://www.myspace.com/indiafightsback . As in a true democracy, the youth would also be able to present and discuss their perceptions with Ms. Dutt about various social issues that need urgent consideration.

Speaking about her association with MySpace ?India Fights Back?, Priya Dutt says, "The present general election is truly one of the most important milestones for India. With the country going through a radical change in the socio-political scenario, it is every citizen‘s duty and responsibility to choose, and choose well, for the country. In the present times, India needs a leader who will not only be able to guide us into the future but also strongly sustain development processes. Through my blog on MySpace India Fights Back, I hope to communicate this directly with the generation that will take India into the next steps of progress. I also hope that through this medium I am able to make a difference to the opinions of the youth and that I would be able to gain a perspective into the pertinent issues affecting them."

Commenting on the association, Hari V. Krishnan, Country Manager, MySpace India adds, ?MySpace India users have always been expressive, responsible and thoughtful. To help stimulate their potential, we are thrilled to have on board Priya Dutt. She represents the present and future of Indian politics and is a youth icon willing to engage in the democratic debate encouraged on MySpace. We look forward to working with her to spread her message on the need for youth to participate in the political process and influence change.?

A sustained effort, MySpace ?India Fights Back? hopes to address more such socially relevant issues in the near future and engage users in making a difference in their own small way.

MUMBAI: With the tone of Bold & Beautiful - McDowell Signature Indian Derby 09 raised many eyebrows and standards of lifestyle. The event held on April 11th and 12th at the Mahalaxmi Race Course, witnessed the thorough-breds vying for top honors.

The McDowell Signature Derby 09 saw Rocky S, Sarah Jane, Simran Kaur , Sophie Chowdary and other who‘s who of India single handedly responsible for placing this striking, defining, accessory back on the fashion map. While Mr. Ashok Capoor , Vice President , USL and Mr. Debashish Shyam, Business Head , USL proved to be the perfect host at the glam filled event.

Antonios (S A De Sousa) trained by S.S.Shah was the winner of the McDowell Signature Indian trophy 2009. Antonios is owned by Mr J. K. Rattonsey, Mr Farouq K. Rattonsey rep. Hyperion Bloodstock Pvt Ltd & Mr Hoosain S. Nense .

Apart from the races, breathtaking performances by International Ariel ballet and Salsa artistes had been introduced for the first time. Tribute performances for Beatles, Rolling Stone & Cliff Richard brought back the glory of their timeless music and charm.

The metamorphism?s of the weekend left sensual after taste in the mouths of everyone present, and with a record prize purse of Rs 1.75 crores, for the first time in the Indian racing history McDowell?s Signature Indian Derby 2009 was one of its kind weekend which will be spoken of for a long time.

MUMBAI: Zee TV announces the launch of, the first of its kind, family game show ?Wheel Ghar Ghar Mein? ? fursat ke lamhe starting 20th April 2009, Mon-Fri at 7pm. A unique family-based game show which is all about ?mohalla, masti and lots of fun is being made by the makers of the country?s most popular musical talent hunt ?Sa Re Ga Ma Pa?, the Zee TV in-house team. This is a distinctive concept in the Hindi GEC that combines emotions, entertainment, people and of course, loads of money!

The show is a competition between two families who will be asked simple questions that get tougher as the rounds progress. Each family will have one anchor by their side, and the two people who have been selected to essay this role are Manish Paul (Ex VJ Zee Muzic and Radio Jockey for a popular channel) and Vipul Roy (winner of the Best Screen Personality award in the country?s only talent hunt India?s Best and the anchor for Sa Re Ga Ma Pa Spotlight).

Commenting on the show, Mr. Nitin Vaidya, COO of ZEEL and Business Head of Zee TV, said, ?We are traveling through the length the breadth of the country and are picking people from various cultures and traditions. What has emerged so far is a beautiful lattice work of incredible India! Also noteworthy is the fact that we have a segment on home remedies in the show for which we have set up a local panel in each city. This panel will consist of people from various fields who are known names in travel, healthcare, medicine, beauty, lifestyle etc. These quick tips are sure to be found very useful by our viewers.?

Besides the daily winners in each episode, the show will also announce a mega winner every week. The mega winner will be amongst the families who have been competing with each other through the week. The daily winners get to take home cash prizes, sarees, a gift hamper from Wheel and other expensive gifts while the weekly winners get the opportunity of winning ?gold to the amount proportionate to their body weight and a holiday package worth Rs. One lakh?, in addition to their daily prize!!