Newsflash:

Lead Your Team to Victory in Germany This Summer

Redmond, Washington—Football loving gamers all over the world can now battle it out on the virtual football pitch for a chance to lead their country to victory in Germany this June with the Xbox® Cup Leaderboard Competition on Xbox Live®.

All you need is EA SPORTS™ 2006 FIFA World Cup™ videogame, now in stores, an Xbox 360™ games console, access to Xbox Live®, and a passion for football! If you've got the top leaderboard spot on May 24, 2006, then you'll be playing for the United States at the Xbox Cup in Germany this summer, joined by two team mates who will have qualified via the other two routes.

Global Online Competition
With Xbox Live, it's easy to keep track of the ups and downs of your team on the leaderboard. Practice on your own as much as you like, but when playing the game connected to Xbox Live, every game counts. Win and your rating goes up, lose and it goes down. The quality of your opposition counts as well—get more points for beating a highly rated player and you drop points if you lose to a poor one.

The global Xbox Cup competition was launched four weeks ago by Xbox, adidas and Electronic Arts. The Xbox Cup Leaderboard Competition on Xbox Live is just one of three ways you can enter the Xbox Cup and win a chance to represent the United States in Germany this summer at the final showdown alongside the FIFA World Cup Finals. There, the American team will compete with 31 other teams from around the world for the Xbox Cup, win tickets from adidas to the FIFA World Cup, and bring back a host of other prizes.

To register to take part in the Xbox Cup Leader-board competition on Xbox Live, just go to www.Xboxcup.com now to sign up and find out more about the competition and the other routes to taking part in the Xbox Cup.

In 2006 FIFA World Cup, step into the heart of the action as you play your favorite team or most-loathed opponent in spectacular fashion with stunning visual representations of the world's superstar players and the 12 official FIFA World Cup stadiums in Germany.

The team members selected to represent the United States in the Xbox Cup will be announced on June 9, 2006. See you in Berlin!