Tiny, Wearable 4-In-1 SD A/V Recorder Helps Heroine Save The Day

SECAUCUS, NJ (May 29, 2003) -- It used to be that those super-small, ultra-hip spy tools seen in the movies existed only in the imagination of screenwriters. But the heroine in the new Paramount Pictures "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life" uses a real-life super gadget that anyone can own: Panasonic's palm-sized e-wear(Tm) four-in-one SD AV recorder.

Panasonic collaborated with Paramount Pictures to equip the daring and beautiful Lara Croft with state-of-the-art digital technology to assist her in her latest adventure, "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life." Oscar(r) -winner Angelina Jolie reprises her role as the undaunted adventuress this summer in the action-packed sequel to the 2001 blockbuster.

Panasonic is launching a global promotional campaign built around the film, which debuts in the U.S. on July 25 and opens in theaters worldwide in August.

"The e-wear A/V recorder is fun, hip and action-packed, just like the Tomb Raider movies," commented Gene Kelsey, Vice President, Panasonic Brand Strategy Group. "The Panasonic e-wear recorder is the ideal tool to capture all the action as it happens, saving the day's moments in audio, video and still photos. We are incorporating a 'Save the Day' theme in our ad campaign, which ties in perfectly to the Tomb Raider storyline."

"In 'Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle Of Life,' the character of Lara Croft uses the most impressive technology you'll see in the movies this summer," said Lisa DiMarzio, Senior Vice President of Worldwide Marketing Partnerships, Paramount Pictures. "Panasonic's personal, digital, e-wear technology is the right fit for this fun, action-packed film, and it plays an integral part in the story."

Not much larger than a make-up compact, Panasonic's e-wear SV-AV30 four-in-one AV recorder is just the thing for any super heroine's wardrobe of ingenious technology. It combines a digital video recorder, a digital still camera, a digital audio player and a digital voice recorder. The SV-AV30 enables Lara to record digital video and still images of shocking discoveries, view the evidence in the palm of her hand, listen to music between battles, and secretly record a voice message while on a mission. All this digital content -- video, still pictures and audio -- are stored on a postage stamp-sized removable SD Memory Card, so they can easily be shared among other compatible devices or downloaded to a PC.

Panasonic's e-wear gear advertising campaign, featuring footage from "The Cradle of Life," begins its national cable TV schedule on VH1, MTV, MTV2 and Comedy Central, May 15 through June 15. The same creative execution will also be used in Europe and Asia this summer, unifying Panasonic's advertising message worldwide.

The Panasonic four-in-one AV recorder is part of a line of ultra-portable e-wear products. New models SV-AV20 and SV-AV30 are compatible with the MP3 and AAC formats. A built-in USB interface makes it easy to transfer music from a PC to an SD Memory Card for playback, while the included SD Jukebox software provides a simple way to catalog and save numerous digital music files in a single database on a PC. The software also accepts digital still images, enabling those with an artistic flair to set their images to music for a custom-made music video. A built-in speaker lets users listen to recorded audio.

Both units have USB cables for computer Internet connection, allowing the user to download music and e-mail images and video files.

Model SV-AV30 features a unique A/V docking station that connects to a TV for viewing video and still images, or to a VCR for recording favorite TV programs and viewing them on the go. The docking station also includes a built-in battery recharger to power up the player.

Panasonic e-wear products, other SD-enabled products and SD Memory Cards are marketed in the United States by Panasonic Consumer Electronics Company. The company is a division of Matsushita Electric Corporation of America, the principal North American subsidiary of Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd., (NYSE:MC) of Japan, one of the world's largest developers and producers of innovative electronic and electric products for consumer, business and industrial use. Media can access press releases via the Panasonic Pressroom web site, www.panasonic.com/pressroom, or through the company's toll-free fax-back system at 888-734-7490.

About Paramount Pictures
Paramount Pictures presents in association with Mutual Film Company, BBC, Tele-Munchen, Toho-Towa, a Lawrence Gordon Production in association with Eidos Interactive Limited, a Jan De Bont Film "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life." Starring Academy Award(r) winner Angelina Jolie and directed by Jan De Bont, the film is produced by Lawrence Gordon and Lloyd Levin. Jeremy Heath-Smith serves as executive producer. The story is by Kirk M. Petruccelli and Lloyd Levin and the screenplay is by Dean Georgaris based on the Eidos Interactive game series developed by Core Design. The film also stars Gerard Butler, Noah Taylor, Ciar�n Hinds, Djimon Hounsou, Til Schweiger and Christopher Barrie.

Paramount Pictures is part of the entertainment operations of Viacom, Inc., which is one of the world's largest entertainment and media companies and a leader in the production, promotion and distribution of entertainment, news, sports and music.

Eidos Interactive is one of the world's leading publishers and developers of entertainment software. Eidos develops and publishes a diverse mix of titles for the PC, PlayStation(r)2 computer entertainment system, Nintendo GameCube(tm) and the Xbox(tm) video game system from Microsoft. For more information on Eidos and its products visit http://www.eidos.com.

Lara Croft and Tomb Raider are trademarks of Core Design Ltd. The Cradle of Life is a trademark of Paramount.

Angelina Jolie, reprising her role as heroine Lara Croft, uses a real-life super gadget that anyone can own --Panasonic's palm-sized e-wear(Tm) four-in-one SD AV recorder -- in Paramount Pictures' "Lara Croft Tomb Raider: The Cradle of Life," opening in U.S. theaters July 25.