Operation Immortality DNA Collection Kit Auction

NCsoft continues to send us Operation Immortality press releases, this time announcing that they’ve set up an eBay auction for a DNA collection kit. Proceeds will help fund Planet Make-Over’s efforts to reverse global warming:

NCsoft Auctions Ability to send Human DNA Into Space

Highest bidder to have digitized DNA stored on International Space Station; Proceeds to benefit Planet Make-Over

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 14, 2008 NCsoft® announced today that it will auction an opportunity for one person to send their digitized DNA into space on a special Operation Immortality sale on the popular Internet auction site, eBay. The news comes just days after the company announced that an Immortality Drive, a time capsule with the digitized DNA of select video gamers and space aficionados, and a collection of humankind’s greatest achievements, will be carried to the International Space Station (ISS) by famed game designer Richard Garriott on October 12.

The auction can be accessed at the Operation Immortality auction site located at http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250282465825. There are two items up for bidding in the auction. The first is a DNA swab kit, which allows users to swab the inside of their cheek and send the sample to a certified testing lab, which will provide a digitized version of the purchaser’s DNA to be placed on the special Immortality Drive. Garriott will leave the drive on the ISS prior to his return to Earth.

Players can be immortalized in Garriott’s latest game, Tabula Rasa® with the second item in the auction package, a character in Tabula Rasa to be named after the winner. Anyone who isn’t already playing the game can access a free trial at http://www.rgtr.com/trial.

The auction is currently open and will close on August 20. The proceeds from the auction will benefit Planet Make-Over’s non-profit Arts Endowment via the Nobelity Project. Planet Make-Over is company based in Austin, Texas with a mission to reverse the effects of global warming. The funds will provide financial support and guidance to performing artists who evangelize Planet Make-Over’s efforts to reverse global warming. On August 12, NCsoft announced that recording artists Eric Johnson, Patrice Pike, and musical director Stephen Bruton in association with Planet Make-Over will be participating in NCsoft’s Operation Immortality and sending their DNA into space via the Immortality Drive.

For information about Operation Immortality, including full terms and conditions, go to http://www.OperationImmortality.com. For information on Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa go to http://www.rgtr.com.

About NCsoft Corporation
NCsoft North America is headquartered in Austin, Texas and is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Korea-based NCsoft Corporation. NCsoft, with its own development and publishing offices in Texas and California, also works with other NCsoft subsidiaries and third party developers throughout North America to develop and publish innovative online entertainment software products. The company has successfully launched multiple online titles in the last three years and continues to support its franchises, which include Lineage®/Lineage II, City of Heroes®/City of Villains®, Guild Wars®/Guild Wars Factions®/Guild Wars Nightfall®/Guild Wars: Eye of the Northâ„¢, Richard Garriott’s Tabula Rasa, Dungeon Runnersâ„¢ and Exteelâ„¢. More information about NCsoft can be found at www.PlayNC.com.

About Planet Make Over
Planet Make-Over® is an interactive, entertainment driven, musician/celebrity-led, global movement to reverse the effects of global warming though social networking. The Planet Make-Over endowment for the arts is a pending 501(c) (3) non-profit organization with a mission to convert climate concerned people’s awareness into measurable action that enables the reversal of global warming through the efforts of Artists worldwide.

Planet Make-Over is designed to deliver compelling and dynamic information to millions of people via the Internet and virally spread it across social media networks through the impact of celebrity driven entertainment content beginning in January 2009.

Because Planet Make-Over relies so heavily on the artist community around the world to ignite action and increase membership, the Planet Make-Over has created an endowment to assist and support artists in their efforts to contribute to the Planet Make-Over mission. These non-profit funds will be used to further their ability to reach larger audiences and continually grow the membership base of the Planet Make-Over community.