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ZAMANO AND DIGIFONE SEEK THE BIGGEST SMART ASS

zamano, a leading innovator of mobile Internet technologies, today announced the launch of Smart Ass, an interactive general knowledge quiz game played via SMS and WAP that is set to take Europe by storm over the coming months. Contestants receive multi-choice questions on various topics that are graded in four stages with increasing difficulty. The aim of the game is to see who has got what it takes to become the smartest ass.

Smart Ass is one of the first games on the market that can be played using SMS, WAP, or both interchangeably. It is currently available through BT subsidiary Digifone's mobile portal DOL in Ireland and will be rolled out to operators across Europe in the coming months. The game also has optional location based marketing functionality, whereby a user can choose to receive adverts between questions.

"Games like Smart Ass are a flavor of the future entertainment potential of mobile technology," said Edel O'Leary, Head of Communications, Digifone. "That small device that people currently use for making phone calls is evolving into a key lifestyle tool, so why shouldn't it be fun too?"

The culmination of each week's game is the Smart Ass Showdown involving the top 20 point scorers of that week. The Smart Ass Showdown is a sudden death competition over SMS, where each contestant competes against the clock and each other to submit the correct answer in the five minutes allocated. The Showdown continues until there is one eventual winner who is awarded the coveted title of Smartest Ass in the country.

Smart Ass is the first release from zamano's M-Ent suite of mobile entertainment products and incorporates advanced administration tools, streamlining the process for Mobile Network Operators. Subscriber Access Control allows customer service to easily manage those subscribers eligible to play the game, while the Reporting module provides detailed and timely information in real time on who is playing and how frequently.

"We are very excited about the launch of Smart Ass and are confident it will be a big hit with mobile users," said Darren Ó Rodaigh, business development manager at zamano. "We're sure that the combination of user friendliness, challenging content and real interaction for gamers through the Smart Ass showdown will prove to be very compelling."

"zamano has an extensive package of mobile entertainment products and services, but Smart Ass is the first step towards our development of multi-player and location based mobile entertainment products," added Ó Rodaigh. "Operators have not only been impressed with the game itself but also with its in built wireless advertising capability, which enables them to maximise their existing infrastructure investments."