(16 March 2006 6:00 pm)

BANGALORE: www.sifymax.in, the broadband portal from Sify Limited, has launched www.bangalorelive.in, the country's first city-centric broadband website.

Bangalorelive.in will showcase original Bangalore-centric video content, created exclusively for an online audience. The videos will focus on city news and events, entertainment, celebrities, lifestyle, commerce and politics, anchored by Net Jockeys (NJs), a new concept introduced by Bangalorelive in India. The Net Jockeys will also present daily news bulletins on video, covering the latest happenings in the city extensively.

The broadband website also features, for the first time in India, live video feeds from traffic web-cams stationed at key junctions of the city including Brigade Road and Hosur Road, states an official release.

A key aspect of Bangalorelive is the options for users to publish their views, participate in Bangalore-specific discussions and upload their own content in images and videos, the release adds. They can also message greetings through Short Message Service (SMS) to their friends who are using the site that will scroll across the home page on a ticker. The idea is to make Bangalorelive the online resource and home for Bangalore's citizens, and the perfect way for Banglorian living elsewhere to stay in touch with what's happening in their home city.

Nikhil Chinapa, the popular MTV VJ from Bangalore, now based in Mumbai, says, "Considering that people from Bangalore have a really strong emotional bond to what they consider 'their' city, a site like Bangalorelive.in is a great way for them to stay in touch with all that's happening in the city. No matter where they are now, Bombay, Delhi, Canada or the US, every Bangalorean can keep up to date on what's happening in Bangalore-the clubs, the music, the buzz, news, hot topics, and in recent times, the latest traffic as well."

Sify Limited senior VP Surya Mantha says, "This is one of the most exciting web initiatives in recent times, and we believe that the people of Bangalore will embrace it and truly make it come alive! The site is India's first city-centric broadband website designed to be the Bangalore citizens community media channel for airing their views, discussing hot local topics and building their own personal space online".

Mantha added, "With 24x7 live video coverage of the city's traffic, news & events, reviews, news from around town presented by India's first Net Jockeys, television-style newscasts and most importantly, video and image galleries for users, Bangalorelive is all set to change the online experience of people from Bangalore, whether they are in the city or elsewhere. The website also features Bangalore-specific classified advertisements for jobs, matrimony, real estate and automobiles which can be posted and viewed by the users free of cost".

Bangalore residents who log on to www.bangalorelive.in can take part in the four-week long contest, which ends on March 18th 2006, offering the all-new Scorpio as the mega prize! Users just have to watch three videos, and answer one question on each, to be eligible to win the Scorpio. Contestants also win iPods and World Space Receivers every week!

The launch of Bangalorelive began with a four week-long event across the city billed the "Battle of the DJs". Three of Bangalore's best DJs are competing for the 'Favourite DJ' title. Bangaloreans can vote for their choice by sending an SMS to 4545, Sify's short code for text messages. The DJ with the most popular votes wins! The grand finale starts at 7 pm on 18 March at Freeway 19, Palace Grounds.