Zenith has launched its World Cup campaign by not just announcing attractive prizes for the team -- but also for the buyers of its new home PCs. Every PC will be accompanied by the latest cricket software from Stump Vision, a company promoted by Indian leg-spinner Anil Kumble. The offer is valid from May 1 to June 30, 1999, by which time the World Cup would have come to a close at Lord's in England.

The Zenith Pentium III PC will be a gift for the cricketers if they conquer the opposition at the Lord's final on June 20. However, even if they lose the final, there is a sop: Zenith with give the runners-up a Pentium II computer. Moreover, it is offering the best bowler, best batsman and best fielder a chance to win a Pentium III iReady computer each, even if the team fails toqualify for the finals.

Zenith's campaign was kicked off in style at Bangalore, the home of Anil Kumble, and was attended by stars of India's World Cup winning team of 1983 and the present team.

The free interactive CD to be bundled with Zenith hardware, is based on cricket and is in two parts. The first is a complete encyclopedia on all the World Cup matches played so far, and is interspersed with interesting and little-known facts. The second CD is also an interactive one in which one can simulate the game in the animation mode. It offers the player combinations in the game: imagine starting your innings with opening pairs like Viv Richards and Kris Srikanth. The CD also has a quiz section.

The Zenith Internet ready PCs have features like a 56kbps in-built 3Com modem, 100 hours of TCP/IP Internet access, an Internet keyboard, and a CD on the usage of the Internet. It also has a voice e-mail facility and a VSNL dialer, and an automatic dialer that contains a complete directory of all the VSNL numbersthroughout the country.

The Rs 200-crore Zenith has gone further ahead with its World Cup ideas. It is one of the sponsors of the new CD, World Cup Encyclopedia '99, and a website, www.goworldcup99.com.