________________________________________________________________________________ Wired News FIFA Yellow-Cards Virtual Ads Reuters 7:45 a.m. 22.Dec.1999 PST ZURICH -- Soccer's world governing body FIFA said on Wednesday it was laying down new guidelines to control on-screen virtual advertising during televised matches. Virtual advertising allows broadcasters to superimpose logos or messages on the signal they send to viewers' homes which give the impression that the images are physically present at the stadium. The new technology makes it possible for advertisers to target different markets around the world with localized images and campaigns in their own language. But soccer authorities are worried that the technique could be abused. A recently televised match in Greece appeared to show players running around giant cans of deodorant. FIFA said it would allow virtual advertising on the center-circle and the penalty areas of the pitch when teams were not playing and on areas of the stadium already used for real advertising. But it banned virtual advertising on the pitch when the teams were on the field and on any persons, including spectators. It also stressed that virtual advertising could only be used with the agreement of match organizers, rights-holders, host broadcasters, and advertisers. "The finalization of these regulations has taken a long time but this is a reflection of the developments in this sector and the need to adapt to modern reality," said Michael Zen-Ruffinen, FIFA's general secretary. "At the same time we have to follow the laws of the game which are the superior authority at all times." Other sports which already allow virtual advertising on the pitch during games are expected to closely monitor the success of the FIFA initiative. The technique is growing in popularity among commercial broadcasters in the United States where it is used for virtual product placement in drama series or to simulate trackside billboards at auto races. http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,1282,33231,00.html ________________________________________________________________________________ no copyright 1999 rolux.org - no commercial use without permission. is a moderated mailing list for the advancement of minor criticism. more information: mail to: majordomo@rolux.org, subject line: , message body: info. further questions: mail to: rolux-owner@rolux.org. archive: http://www.rolux.org