(30 November 2005 2:00 pm)

MUMBAI:Come 1 December and MTV will focus on HIV/Aids both from a domestic and global perspective to help inform viewers about the epidemic and ways that they can actively engage in the issue and protect themselves.

At 8:30 pm tomorrow MTV will air the MTV Music Summit for Aids 2005.The objective of this is not only to increase the awareness of Aids amongst the youth but also educate them on safeguarding themselves against this deadly disease. The theme for this year’s MTV Music Summit for AIDS is ‘Women’s Empowerment’.

Yana Gupta, Bombay Vikings, Shaan, Strings, Kunal Ganjawala, Himesh Reshamiya, Abhijeet Sawant, Amit Sana, Rahul Vaidya, the Sa Re Ga Ma Pa finalists, the new kids on the block – Pratichee and Raghav Sachar- all participate in the event.

MTV wil also air an interview between MTV News correspondent John Norris and UN secretary-general Kofi Annan on the challenges of this global pandemic. MTV News will broadcast a special News segment excerpted from the interview, which will also be available on demand on MTV Overdrive, MTV's new broadband network. MTV Radio will make the 30 minute interview available to all MTV Radio Network Affiliates nationwide, reaching more than 200 radio stations.

mtvU will also feature World Aids Day programming on-air, as well as online at mtvU.com and mtvU Über – the network’s broadband channel. mtvU will present a number of new HIV/Aids related PSAs and VJ’s will discuss testing and the college audience.

In a special partnership with Global Nomads Group, mtvU will present original short form programming profiling college students from the US and India discussing HIV prevention issues and visiting a local hospital in India treating HIV patients. All of the programming will run on mtvU and mtvU Über. Additionally, users will be able to log on to mtvU.com to learn about testing, facts on sexually transmitted diseases, contraception, condom use and hotlines.

Meanwhile in the US, MTV and the Kaiser Family Foundation, as part of the think: Sexual Health campaign, have announced a multiplatform programming line-up of specials, public service announcements (PSAs), free interactive resources and broadband services. The collaboration builds on MTV’s nine-year public education partnership with Kaiser.

MTV and MTV’s college network in the US mtvU will air Think Again: Sex Myths Revealed. The aim is to help inform and empower young people to protect themselves from HIV/Aids and other sexually transmitted diseases by dispelling popular misconceptions.

MTV News will also feature news segments examining the state of the HIV/Aids epidemic in the US and abroad, focusing on young people who represent half of all new HIV infections globally. A new series of PSAs called Perspectives produced by Kaiser and MTV, will aim to inform viewers about HIV/Aids and direct them to the campaign’s toll-free hotline and website for more information, including where and how to get tested.

Online, through think.mtv.com, viewers will be able to access It's Your (Sex) Life: Your Guide to Safe & Responsible Sex. This is a free interactive guide created by Kaiser and MTV, which provides information on STDs and HIV. The website will also help users find local HIV testing facilities and highlights opportunities to get involved on a local community level. MTV Overdrive, the broadband network, will also air all World Aids Day programming on-demand.