Virgin hopping mad
British computer games publisher offers £2,000 reward for the capture of a kangaroo allegedly on the loose in Lewisham, south east London. No, really.
A lot of odd press releases find their way into our mailboxes every week, but this has to be the weirdest one we've seen in a long, long time... British publisher Virgin Interactive are offering a £2,000 cash reward for the capture of the "Lewisham kangaroo", a marsupial which is apparently on the loose in the eponymous borough of south-east London. No, we didn't believe it either, but then we found this news report. It seems that the kangaroo has been spotted by several golfers in Beckenham Place Park, and paw prints and uprooted vegetation have been found in the area, but so far nobody has been able to catch it.
Why do Virgin want a kangaroo? To publicise their 3D platform game "Kao the Kangaroo" of course, which is due for release in the UK next week on PC and Dreamcast. "Should it be captured, subject to further negotiations, the Lewisham kangaroo is destined to become the star of a national advertising campaign for 'Kao The Kangaroo', across press, TV and outdoor media". Lucky kangaroo. Virgin are also offering a Sega Dreamcast, a copy of the game, and a cash bonus to the first person or persons to send in an authentic photo or video of the animal wandering around in south east London.
Before you all start heading for London though, a spokesman for Lewisham council warns that "kangaroos are potentially dangerous creatures, and the last thing we want is anyone getting hurt". And quite what the poor kangaroo would make of all of this I don't know... To find out more, read the press release.