Government Home Search Sitemap Contact Us

September 8, 1997
(Tourism, Culture and Recreation)

The following is being distributed at the request of Mungo Park:

Lifestyle Guru Martha Stewart and Actress Stefanie Powers Explore the Wild
Regions of Newfoundland and Labrador On the Next Mungo Park Adventure

This month, the Mungo Park online adventure magazine, published by the Microsoft Expedia travel service (//mungopark.com/), explores Atlantic Canada on its latest interactive adventure, To the Eastern Edge: An Odyssey through Newfoundland and Labrador, Sept. 9-24. Mungo Park will explore the charms and challenges of this uncommon region by land with actress and environmental advocate Stefanie Powers, and by sea with lifestyle guru Martha Stewart.

Known to its denizens as the Eastern Edge, the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador has a rich ethnic tradition based on the rugged durability of its people. With support from the Department of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, Mungo Park will explore the appeal of this northern region in a pentathlon of challenges. Armchair adventurers can experience this odyssey via written dispatches from Mungo Park correspondents Powers, Stewart and award-winning adventure writer Jon Bowermaster, along with audio communiques, digital photographs and surround video from the field.

Virtual explorers can follow the adventures of Stefanie Powers in Labrador and Martha Stewart in Newfoundland. Both share a passion for nature and wildlife conservation, yet each will bring a unique and distinct voice to Mungo Park.

Powers, a veteran of several television series that include her signature show "Hart to Hart," is founder and president of the William Holden Wildlife Foundation and has a long-standing commitment to wildlife conservation.

"I'm extremely excited to be taking part in the exploration of Newfoundland and Labrador on Mungo Park," Powers said. "This fragile environment and its unusual indigenous wildlife make it one of nature's gifts to our planet. As someone dedicated to wildlife conservation, it's a thrill for me to share this experience with a global audience via the Internet."

Martha Stewart recently climbed Mount Kilimanjaro and is an outdoors enthusiast. When she is not kayaking or mountain climbing, Stewart is chairman and CEO of Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, which is comprised of three divisions: publishing & online, television, and merchandising.

Here's what visitors are scheduled to experience on *Mungo Park* this month:

• The September issue kicks off with a live broadcast of what may be the first interactive rock concert. The Punters, rising stars of Celtic rock, will perform live from O'Reilly's Pub in St. John's, Newfoundland, on Sept. 9 at 6 p.m. Pacific time. Virtual audience members can make requests and comments, and even ask band members questions between songs.
• Stefanie Powers will explore the wild and remote reaches of northern Labrador while tracking the world's largest herd of migrating caribou (more than 600,000 strong). Along the way, Powers will experience Labrador in all its grandeur, visiting the only glaciers in continental eastern North America, mile-high sea cliffs in the Torngat Mountains, an iceberg parade coming down from Greenland, and Minke whales.
• Martha Stewart joins the Mungo Park team on a sea-kayaking adventure in the scenic and pristine waters of Placentia Bay. By day, Stewart will explore the countless coves and uninhabited inlets that abound in the bay. By night, she will explore the lifestyle and culture of an outpost community that is representative of life hundreds of years ago.
• The Humber River is said to offer the best Atlantic salmon fishing in the world. Award-winning adventure writer Jon Bowermaster and the Mungo Park team will fish remote locations along the Humber in search of late runs of large male salmon weighing up to 30 pounds.
• The team will climb the technical walls of Gros Morne Provincial Park, or "Big Lone Mountain." This wild and mysterious mountain, which is often capped with clouds and snow or cloaked in fog, offers spectacular views of glacially carved landscapes and deep fjords.
• Mungo Park will explore the cultural life of St. John's, one of the oldest cities in North America. Armchair adventurers can join the field team on a pub crawl, meet colourful local denizens, and explore the local music, dance, food, drink and dialect via the Internet at //mungopark.com/.

"We're very pleased by the opportunity to work with Mungo Park to showcase

Newfoundland and Labrador as a unique travel destination," said Sandra Kelly, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation, Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. "The timing couldn't be better as we celebrate the 500th anniversary of English explorer John Cabot's historic voyage to Newfoundland in 1497."

Also on Mungo Park this month:

• Postcards from Mungo Park. Now virtual explorers can choose a Mungo Park picture postcard and send it via e-mail, along with a personal message, to anyone with an Internet address. Virtual explorers can choose a postcard from a variety of Mungo Park expeditions.

• Live Internet chat with Stefanie Powers. Join Powers for a live Internet chat on Sept. 18 at 6 p.m. Pacific time. Powers will discuss her adventures in Labrador and her work on behalf of wildlife conservation.
• Voices from the Eastern Edge. See and hear the songs, stories, poetry and art in this multimedia revue of Newfoundland and Labrador's artistic community. Listen to the artists themselves as they reveal their work through audio self-portraits.
• Features. Explore Newfoundland's hidden secrets and the favourite places of Norman Howard, award-winning author of "The Bird Artist." Learn about the colourful puffins and other birds of the region, what it's like to kayak among Newfoundland's whales, and all about Atlantic salmon fishing from Mungo Park contributing editors Mary Roach, Byron Ricks and Sara Godwin.

Mungo Park adds Newfoundland and Labrador to its exciting list of adventures. Since September 1996, Mungo Park has taken online adventurers into space aboard the Atlantis space shuttle (STS-81) and the Mir space station; diving among the coral reefs of Fiji with Jean-Michel Cousteau; on the first-ever descent of the Tekeze River in Ethiopia; to Cambodia and Vietnam with noted journalist Robert Scheer; on the trail of dinosaurs with Jack Horner, the world's greatest paleontologist; and more. Past issues of Mungo Park, including live expeditions, are available at //mungopark.com/.

Mungo Park is accessible on the World Wide Web and features an interactive expedition program, live Internet chats, a famous-author series, and regular columns from well-known journalists. Named for the famous 18th century Scottish explorer who discovered the Niger River and mysteriously disappeared while navigating its waters, Mungo Park is about exploring the world -- firsthand and online.

Mungo Park is accessible free (connect-time charges may apply) on the Internet and on MSN, The Microsoft Network. To see Mungo Park, users need World Wide Web access; a 28.8Kbps or faster modem is recommended. Mungo Park is best experienced with Microsoft Internet Explorer 3.0 or higher, or Netscape Navigator 3.0 or higher. Both the Macintosh platform and the Windows operating system are supported.

Microsoft Expedia is a free online travel planning service available on the World Wide Web at //expedia.msn.com/, and on MSN, The Microsoft Network (connect-time charges may apply). Using the same comprehensive reservations system used by professional travel agents, Expedia helps customers research and purchase or reserve airline tickets, hotel rooms, and rental cars to more than 330 destinations around the world.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

NOTE: Microsoft, Mungo Park, Expedia, MSN and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. The Microsoft Network is operated by Microsoft Corp. on behalf of Microsoft Network LLC.

NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft check out the Microsoft Web page at //microsoft.com/corpinfo/ on Microsoft's corporate information pages.

CONTACT:

Gerri Kelly, 312-240-2743, or gkelly@edelman.com,

or Danielle Fox, 312-240-2832, or danielle_fox@edelman.com, both of Edelman Public Relations Worldwide, for Microsoft.