Webby Awards Announce Best Automotive Nominees

New York, NY (April 10, 2007) – The 11thAnnual Webby Awards today announced the nominees for Best Automotive Site of the Year.

Hailed as the "Oscars of the Internet" by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Web sites, online film and video, interactive advertising, and mobile web sites. The Academy unveiled nominees today in over 100 categories from over 60 countries and a full list of nominees can be found at http://www.webbyawards.com.

Reflecting the incredible diversity of Automotive sites on the Web, the five nominees in the category are:

• Volvo C30 – A Product of Free Will 
http://www.prize-entry.com/c30/webbyawards/websites/
• Dimension R8   
 http://microsites.audi.com/audir8/
• MINI USA    
http://www.miniusa.com
• Yaris Virtual Test Drive  
 http://www.toyota.com/vehicles/minisite/yaris/experience
• VW, VW Featers/GTI  
 http://www.cpbgroup.com/awards/vwfeatures.html

Last year's winner for Best Automotive Site was Mercedes-AMG http://www.mercedes-amg.com.

In a tribute to democracy on the Web, The Webby People's Voice Awards also kicks-off today, allowing people around the world to vote for their favorite Web sites in all 100+ Webby categories. Through April 27th, online fans can cast ballots for their picks for their top choices at: peoplesvoice.webbyawards.com. Since The Webby People's Voice Awards began ten years ago, over 2.3 million votes have been cast.

The Webby Awards are presented by the International Academy of Digital Arts & Sciences, a global organization with over 500 members including musician David Bowie, Virgin Group founder Richard Branson, The Body Shop president Anita Roddick, "Simpsons" creator Matt Groening, Naked Chef Jamie Oliver, and fashion designer Max Azria.

"The Web is now the dominant force reshaping pop culture and business and nowhere is that more evident than in the emergence of interactive advertising and the boom in film and video now premiering on the 'Net" said David-Michel Davies, Executive Director of The Webby Awards. "Having set the standards for Websites, we are thrilled to now honor the innovators who are taking the medium in exciting new creative directions." Winners of the 11th Annual Webby Awards and Webby People's Voice Awards will be announced on May 1, 2007. Winners will be honored at a gala event on June 5th at New York City's historic Cipriani Wall Street (55 Wall Street). Comedian Rob Corddry, the star of Fox's new sitcom The Winner and a former correspondent for The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, will be returning for the third consecutive year to host. In keeping with Webby tradition, winners will once again be held to a five-words-or-less acceptance speech.

The Webby Awards and Webby People's Voice Awards voting process is audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers.

Review all the nominees for the 11th Annual Webby Awards at www.webbyawards.com

About The Webby Awards:

Hailed as the "Oscars of the Internet" by the New York Times, The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet, including Web sites, interactive advertising, online film and video, and mobile web sites. Established in 1996, the 11th Annual Webby Awards received a record 8,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. The Webby Awards is presented by The International Academy of Digital Arts and Sciences. Sponsors and Partners of The Webby Awards include: Adobe; The Creative Group; Verizon; AOL Video; dotMobi; Level3; Adweek; Fortune; Variety; Wired; IDG: Brightcove; PricewaterhouseCoopers; 2advanced.Net; KobeMail and Museum of the Moving Image