MSNBC.COM Teams With HP to Offer Rare Glimpse of Remote New Guinea Tribe

MSNBC.COM Teams With HP to Offer Rare Glimpse of Remote New Guinea Tribe Digital Technology Will Unveil the Cultural Norms of the World's Last 'Undiscovered' People REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 30 /PRNewswire/ -- MSNBC.com and HP, on December 1, embark on their joint adventure, Great Escapes Digital Village: New Guinea. The travel documentary will follow Richard Bangs, Executive Producer and Host of Great Escapes, into rarely seen territories of New Guinea, where he will enable native tribes to share their unique views of the world through the use of HP digital technology. Great Escapes Digital Village: New Guinea is a two-month-long expedition being shared with MSNBC.com viewers through satellite feeds of streamlined video, audio interviews and the digital imagery captured by the tribe members as they explore this new mode of communication. "The HP Digital Village Experience developed out of a desire to illustrate the capability of digital technology to bring people together," said Charlie Tillinghast, General Manager and Publisher of MSNBC.com. "MSNBC.com is a powerful venue for reaching audiences worldwide and we hope the photography generated from this project will inspire MSNBC.com viewers to look at their world with a fresh perspective." MSNBC.com and HP have outfitted Richard Bangs and his Great Escapes crew with user-friendly digital technology, including battery-powered cameras and photo printers, to help the people of Long Lebusan, a primitive village on the banks of the Waghi River, show the world how they view life in their remote region of the world. "We'll ask them to shoot what they find interesting, valuable, beautiful," said Bangs. "We'll ask them to photograph us, the visitors who have come to their community; we'll ask them to stage their most colorful ceremonies, and to capture on camera the telling moments of their lives." The excursion begins with a visit to the Pamagirri Aboriginals in Australia, an ethnic group related to some in nearby New Guinea. This group, which has become part of the modern world while continuing to celebrate their heritage, will be an invaluable resource for the team as it prepares for this unprecedented journalistic undertaking. The team will then travel by small plane to the interior of New Guinea, to the village of Mount Hagen, one of the few with an airstrip. The final leg includes trekking and canoeing to Long Lebusan. Through satellite uplinks to the MSNBC.com offices in Redmond, Washington, the daily travels and discoveries of the Digital Village: New Guinea team will be published online at http://www.greatescapes.msnbc.com/ for the entire world to experience. MSNBC.com is underwriting all travel expenses for the team, with HP Photosmart R707 and M307 digital cameras and various HP Photosmart photo printers provided in agreement with HP. Source: MSNBC.com CONTACT: Kris Coratti of DBC Public Relations Experts, +1-202-298-9059, or kris@dbcpr.com, for MSNBC.com Web site: http://www.msnbc.com/ http://www.greatescapes.msnbc.com/ ------- Profile: International Entertainment