The debut on the virtual community represents a new chapter in the innovation process Costa Cruises is implementing to get closer to the internet user. All internet users will also have the opportunity to participate to the new blog which debuts on the dedicated mini-website www.costaserena.net

On the day that Costa Cruises launches its latest ship, Costa Serena, the largest Italian and European cruise vessel, the Italian cruise line is also launching Second Life, the Web�s new three-dimensional virtual community. The christening ceremony of the new flagship will take place on 19 May 2007 in two venues: a real one in the �First Life� in the port of Marseilles, and a virtual one in the world of ��Second Life�.

Driven by its strong propensity for technology innovation, company management, security, quality and range of offering, Costa Cruises gets closer to the internet user through participation in this virtual community with a faithful reproduction of its twelfth flagship Costa Serena and the Palacrociere terminal. Thanks to this initiative Costa Cruises aims to offer all Second Life �residents� the virtual experience of a cruise on a Costa ship. All users who register at www.secondlife.com will have the opportunity to take part in the virtual inauguration ceremony with entertainment, DJ party, treasure hunt and firework displays.

Costa Serena�s christening on Second Life is just one part of the Costa presence on the web: it will also virtual guests the opportunity to board the ship, stroll along its outer decks, visit the Pantheon Atrium, and discover all the services offered by Costa Serena, ranging from the Samsara Spa � one of the largest wellness areas on a cruise ship, to the Grand Prix driving simulator.

The virtual passengers will also be able to interact with virtual hostesses ready to answer all their questions about the new ship in five different languages: English, Italian, French, Spanish and German. Once aboard the virtual ship, online users will be able to participate in an entertainment event created especially for them. For all those who are not yet �residents� of Second Life, Costa Cruises has developed a mini-website totally dedicated to the Costa Serena (www.costaserena.net) to allow them to view the ship, interact through a blog, and enter a competition to win a real cruise aboard the Costa Serena. In line with the design of the interiors which have been inspired by the classical Roman and Greek mythology, the lucky winner will be the person who provides the most original answer to the question �What makes you feel like a god on a cruise?�

All these events are in line with the all-embracing approach to innovation adopted by Costa Cruises several years ago with the aim of experimenting in new forms of cutting-edge communication and exploiting the internet and new technologies in order to be ever closer to its consumers � whether customers, travel agencies or online users � and optimising services and relations.

�Costa Cruises is the first company in the world to recreate a cruise terminal and launch its ship simultaneously on Second Life and in First Life,� declared Daniele Mancini, Costa�s Corporate eBusiness Director. �This event represents the culmination of our activities oriented towards a new way of understanding the Internet as a means of communication and a starting point for a series of new projects in which the user is at the centre of all communication. Web 2.0 will now allow the word-of-mouth recommendations generated by Costa�s satisfied cruise customers to reach beyond friends and family to the entire Internet.�

In addition to its presence on Second Life, which represents a new opportunity for future activities and events, Costa Cruises already has an internet presence in the form of a �business-to-consumer� website www.costa.it diversified for 17 markets (including China) in over 11 languages, ensuring the localisation of its product range.

Costa Cruises SpA is an Italian cruise company and the market leader in Europe and South America. In 2006 Costa carried a total of 880,000 cruise guests and this figure is expected to hit the one million mark in 2007. Its fleet, Europe�s largest and most advanced, has a total of 12 ships in service and three under construction. By 2010 the Costa fleet will be 15 strong with total Guest capacity of approximately 30,800. All of the vessels fly the Italian flag and are deployed in the Mediterranean, Northern Europe, the Caribbean, South America, the Arabian Gulf, the Far East, Indian Ocean. Costa Cuises has been certified by RINA (Italian Shipping Register) with the BEST4, an integrated system of voluntary certification of corporate compliance with the highest standards governing social accountability (SA 8000, issued in 2001), environment (UNI EN ISO 14001, 2004), safety (OHSAS 18001, 1999) and quality (UNI EN ISO 9001, 2000). Costa Cruises is also an official partner of the WWF for the protection of the marine ecoregions of the Mediterranean, the Greater Antilles and Brazil. Costa Cruises SpA also operates the brand AIDA Cruises, which is the number one cruise company for the German market with four ships in service and three under construction. Costa Cruises SpA is a subsidiary of Carnival Corporation & plc, the world�s largest cruise operator.

For more information or to book go to www.costacruises.co.uk or call 020 7940 4499 See the latest news at: www.rooster.co.uk/news Search, subscribe by news category, download photos and more

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For further information please contact: Catriona Hamilton / Lena Day / Anita Clements Rooster tel: +44 (0) 20 7953 8774 Email: cat.hamilton@rooster.co.uk / lena.day@rooster.co.uk / anita.clements@rooster.co.uk Web: www.rooster.co.uk