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EarthCam Announces the 2006 "25 Most Interesting Webcams"

Industry Leader Releases 8th Annual List of World's Best Internet Cameras

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

New York, December 13, 2006 -- EarthCam, the world's favorite webcam network, recognized authority on the Internet camera industry, and winner of the 2006 People's Voice Webby Award, has released its eighth annual list of the world's best webcams.

This year's 25 Most Interesting Webcams (www.EarthCam.com/top25) introduce new, unique, and captivating online experiences through cameras in countries including Andorra, Canada, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Switzerland, Syria, and the United States. The exceptional Internet cameras offer viewers unprecedented glimpses of Bald Eagles, chickens, Beluga whales, a squirrel monkey, Sumatran tigers, Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches, tropical fish, and sea lions. Other webcams invite you to take a virtual tour of Andorra via 50 scenic network cameras, keep track of snowfall in Michigan, and see the Space Shuttle in orbit above the Earth.

"Our Top 25 list continues to showcase the most stunning and entertaining live webcam content from around the world," said Brian Cury, founder and CEO of EarthCam. "Network camera technology and bandwidth continues to improve each year enabling more streaming video content, sharper images, and a much improved user experience overall."

The 25 Most Interesting Webcams were chosen using the criteria of creativity in concept, technology, visual quality, and design. A diverse group of judges – from EarthCam executives to VIPs including Iraq war veterans, LCpl Frank Cinturati Jr. and GySgt. Wes Drake, Kristen Achee, Miss Hawaiian Tropic International 2006, and soap opera star Ricky Paull Goldin from CBS's Guiding Light – reviewed thousands of nominees to select the best and most distinctive for this annual list.

For a complete list of judges, click here.

Top 25 Most Interesting Webcams (in alphabetical order):

2006 WINTER OLYMPIC STADIUM – TORINO, ITALY
In addition to webcam views of the Olympic Stadium, Olympic Sports Palace, and the Olympic Arch, multiple cameras give viewers access to colorful panoramas of the northern Italian city of Torino. The site also offers closer looks at the Roman Gate, Turin Cathedral, and the chapel that houses the historic Holy Shroud of Turin.

ANDORRAMANIA WEBCAMS
The small country of Andorra tucked away in the eastern Pyrenees between France and Spain consists of a cluster of mountain valleys decorated with multiple streams. The resulting beautiful vistas as well as snow trails, local highway, and street views are captured by more than 50 cameras enticing web visitors to spend time day dreaming.

BABY TIGER CAM, CANADA
One of this year's most endearing webcams beckons from the Toronto Zoo in Canada, where two female Sumatran tiger cubs, Kali and Indah, will grow up and develop before our eyes via a live streaming webcam. This camera provides us with a rare opportunity to see the hidden world of one of earth's most endangered species, the Sumatran Tiger.

BELUGA WHALE CAM, CANADA
Live from the Vancouver Aquarium in Canada is a magnificent streaming video peek at an undersea arctic habitat exhibit featuring white beluga whales. Belugas are called "sea canaries" due to their songs, heard even above water. Watch the belugas as they use echolocation to locate food, to find breathing holes in the thick Arctic ice sheet, and to navigate in deep, dark waters.

CATALINA ISLAND CAM
From Santa Catalina Island in Southern California are high-resolution webcam images from the Pavilion Lodge and the Catalina Casino offering breathtaking views of the harbor, Descanso Beach, and adjacent Crescent Avenue. The website offers unique interactivity, allowing visitors to choose one of nine preset views from the two cameras to zoom into the image for detailed close ups.

CHICKEN CAM
Ever wonder what chickens are up to in Germany? These live webcams will show you - with streaming video, high-resolution shots, photo archives, a weblog, and links to chicken cams across the globe!

EAGLE CAM
The BioDiversity Research Institute in Maine presents a live view of an American Bald Eagle's nest, where three eaglets hatched this past April and two chicks fledged in July. This comprehensive website includes streaming video of the nest, video and still image archives, an eagle blog written by three senior biologists, and numerous links to relevant information.

EGBERT'S CAM
Egbert brings the world Europa-Park's shining Geodesic dome and the surrounding glitter. During the holidays the dome is decorated as a gigantic tree ornament, in the Fall it takes on the face of a pumpkin. Worth repeated visits to see what the decorators are up to from month to month. Located in Rust, Germany, Europe's largest theme park recreates the look and feel of some of the continent's most beautiful and interesting countries.

FLIM LAAX FALERA WEISSE CAMS
Multiple webcams dare skiing enthusiasts and adventurers to focus on challenging slopes in Laax Falera, Switzerland. Viewers can almost feel the thin Alpine air as they move from camera to camera enjoying dramatic sweeping vistas of snow peaks and the Vorab Glacier.

JASON'S FISHCAM
Welcome to the undersea world of Jason Winters' two aquariums, a microcosm populated by Tetras, Platys, crabs, albino catfish, snails, and shrimp. These interactive live streaming video webcams allow you to pan the camera and control the movements of a diver and the jaws of an alligator. You can even pour over Jason's shenanigans to be the number one fishcam on Google in his self-proclaimed "Crappy Blog".

KEY WEST CAM
Key West, the most urban of the Florida Keys, is known for its thriving nightlife. This fast-updating webcam peers down Key West's legendary Duval Street just outside The Lazy Gecko, a tropical island themed bar where scores of tourists and locals can be seen constantly cruising up and down the sidewalk and in and out the Gecko entrance.

LIVE MONKEY CAM
Streaming video brings a monkey's day to life in his spacious environment. Enjoy the antics of the Costa Rican squirrel monkey from 7am to 7pm Eastern Standard Time daily as he scampers about his space and from time to time delights in eating favorite foods ranging from pasta to peanut butter.

NASA WEBCAMS
From the Kennedy Space Center in Florida are a comprehensive omnibus of 15 live video feeds displaying various Space Shuttle processing and launch activities as well as the latest weather and Shuttle missions from space.

OKINAWA WEBCAM
User controllable cameras from the southernmost tropical Japanese island of Okinawa. Enjoy a collection of over 30 webcams from the northern, central, and southern regions, Ishigaki Island and outlying islands. You will be treated to interactive cameras with live views of island resorts, undersea reefs, alluring beaches, city streets, as well as high-resolution streaming images of everything Okinawan.

ROACH CAM
If you can't visit them in person at the University of South Carolina, the research lab provides you with an up close and intimate webcam look at the "family" life of giant Madagascar Hissing Cockroaches. If you're "lucky" you may catch one giving birth to nymphs who, when mature, can weigh as much as a fully grown mouse. Not recommended for viewing before lunch or dinner.

POSITANO, SALERNO, ITALY
Along the scenic Amalfi coast of Italy, Positano in Salerno is known as the "vertical town" or more romantically as "The Pearl of the Amalfi Coast". The streaming video webcam offers a dramatic view of the town high above the Gulf of Salerno with the dome of the Church of the Assumption in the foreground.

SLOPPY JOE'S BAR
Internationally renowned Sloppy Joe's Bar has been a Key West, Florida attraction since 1933 with webcams that continuously broadcast streaming video and updating images of live music performances on stage each day from noon till the wee night hours, its busy bar, and bustling Duvall Street right outside its doors.

STATUE OF LIBERTY
This international symbol of freedom, formerly "Liberty Enlightening the World," beckons the "masses yearning to be free" with eternal hope as they sail up the Hudson River in New York City. This webcam presents a magnificent unmatched streaming video view of the Statue of Liberty along with 24 hour archives and breathtaking Hall of Fame stills.

SWISS MOUNTAIN CAM
The year-round majesty of the Swiss Alps reigns over the scenic wonder of Savognin, Switzerland, a popular ski resort in the winter which offers beautiful pastoral images in the summer. Enjoy the beauty and tranquility as the sun plays with the shadows in high definition detail.

SWITCHCAM – ZURICH, SWITZERLAND
This exceptional website features fascinating time-lapse videos of historic central Zurich along the Limmat River. Interactive controls allow visitors to control the live, streaming video webcam, take snapshots, and choose presets of city landmarks. The archives can be selected by day and month and include panoramas, interactive virtual reality images, and high-resolution shots.

SYRIA ON THE INTERNET
A live webcam focused on Arnous Square in Damascus, Syria, also provides archives of daily activities using time-lapse movies. A simple click on the calendar date graphic gives viewers a glimpse of the hustle and bustle of Arnous Square on the chosen day.

TE PUIA, NEW ZEALAND
A geothermal land filled with 40,000 year-old boiling springs, mud holes, and geysers beckons Website adventurers who are invited to control the camera. Views range from sweeping sights of steaming terrain to close-ups of scalding mud bubbles in this pre-historic playland of nature.

TURTLE BAY RESORT SURF CAM
Aloha and mahalo from the Turtle Bay Resort situated on the Hawaiian island of Oahu's scintillating north shore. An interactive live streaming video view of the volcanic rock coast, azure Pacific Ocean, and hotel pool can be scanned with a user-controllable Pan/Tilt/Zoom webcam, allowing visitors to participate in a virtual vacation of the island paradise.

WILDERNESS PINES
Live from Gaylord, Michigan, check the local snowfall in Wilderness Valley and the northern part of the state with the help of a "Frosty" look-alike. A fun way to check snow accumulation and other weather. Snow fans can also link to other live cams in the area. A treat for winter weather aficionados.

ZOO VIEW
Whether it's penguins, sea Lions, tigers or grizzly bears, watching the live and archived webcam activities of residents of Columbia, South Carolina’s Riverbanks Zoo and Garden is a sight to enjoy with the family. The live webcam views are the centerpiece of a website that makes learning about the world’s wildlife fun. Check the animals of the month schedule on the “Energetic Minds” section of the site.

EarthCam.com is the leading network of live webcams and offers the most comprehensive search engine of webcams from around the world. EarthCam provides complete infrastructure services to manage, host and maintain live streaming video camera systems for its corporate clients. Clients include Panasonic, Ford, NASA, Pfizer, JetBlue, This Old House, Sprint, Toyota, Yahoo!, Disney, Coca-Cola, Discover Card, Turner Construction, Bechtel Corp, Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, numerous state and federal government agencies, and the Department of Homeland Security. EarthCam has webcast premier events such as international concerts, Emmy and Grammy Awards, Miss Hawaiian Tropic pageants, Mardi Gras, New Year's Eve in Times Square, and NFL Super Bowls.

Visit EarthCam at www.EarthCam.com

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