Great campaigns from little seeds grow

Concern, the international relief and development agency, has launched a major website which features a virtual reality field.

Users go to the site, called The Giving Field, choose a cyber seed, watch it being virtually planted and visit 24 hours a day to see how the field has been dynamically growing.

Whenever a pledge is received, The Giving Field grows accordingly. So even when you're not logged on, the field is gradually maturing. Eventually, the whole field will be full of sprouting plants, with every single plant representing a pledge to Concern.

Angela Whyte, Concern Appeals Executive, said "The Giving Field is a major advance in online donor interaction."

Sunshine, moonlight

Another unique aspect of The Giving Field is its appearance. Whatever time you log on, you will see it in the light that is appropriate to the time you logged on at. So if you log on at 2pm in Belfast, you'll see a magnificent sunlit field, but at the same instant in Sydney, 11pm, you'd see a beautiful moonlit field. This Local Time effect is achieved by matching the site with your PC's computer system clock.

"It's very exciting for us", commented Shenda Loughnane, Managing Director of ICAN. "It'll be the first time this kind of technology has been employed in this manner, and will do fantastic justice to a truly ground breaking concept."

The Giving Field goes live on May 18 2005. For more information contact Siobhan Lavery, Business Development Director, on 00353 01677 0440.