Linkin Park Celebrates New Album Release with Fans in Virtual MTV on Wednesday, May 16th

Linkin Park Celebrates New Album Release with Fans in Virtual MTV on Wednesday, May 16th

NEW YORK, May 15 /PRNewswire/ -- Linkin Park's long-awaited third album "Minutes to Midnight" hits store shelves today, and tomorrow members of the band will host a virtual party within Virtual MTV (vMTV) to meet with their fans and discuss their latest project.

Vocalist Chester Bennington and other band members will make special appearances at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on Wednesday, May 16th in vMTV's virtual version of Club Hyde, the trendy Hollywood Hills hotspot. To join the party, fans simply need to go to http://www.vmtv.com/, download the free application, create their own stylized avatar and head over to the club to meet Bennington.

vMTV from MTV Networks' Music Group is a collection of popular virtual worlds that bridge the gap between television programming and emerging virtual world space. With Virtual Laguna Beach, Virtual Hills and now Virtual Pimp My Ride, viewers can instantly transport themselves to the sun-kissed beaches of Laguna Beach, crash the hot party scene in the Hollywood Hills or visit the hotbed of car culture in Van Nuys, Calif. to "live" the lifestyle they see on- air, hang out with their favorite cast members, meet their favorite artists or simply recreate their own drama in-world.

Bennington will be represented in vMTV by a specially created avatar, allowing him to interact one-on-one with their fans around the world in an environment that replicates one of the hottest scenes in Hollywood, and will be joined by another band member in-world. The approach in vMTV represents just one of the new ways forward-thinking bands like Linkin Park are connecting with their fans.

Linkin Park's vMTV appearance follows the February appearance by the revolutionary alternative rock band KoRN, which hosted a virtual record release party in support of their latest project, "MTV Unplugged: KoRn."

Linkin Park is Chester Bennington (vocals), Rob Bourdon (drums), Brad Delson (guitar), Joe Hahn (DJ), Dave "Phoenix" Farrell (bass), and Mike Shinoda (vocals). They have earned two Grammy Awards, the first for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2002 with their hit single "Crawling" and the second for Best Rap/Sung Collaboration with Jay-Z in 2006 for the innovative "Numb/Encore." Linkin Park has sold 40 million records worldwide since their debut in 2000. The Diamond-Certified Hybrid Theory has alone sold more than 18 million copies, and the single "In the End" earned the band the Best Rock Video at the 2002 MTV Video Music Awards. Linkin Park's sophomore album, "Meteora," continued the momentum, with the single "Somewhere I Belong" capturing Best Rock Video at the 2003 MTV VMAs and "Breaking the Habit" capturing the Viewer's Choice Award at the 2004 MTV VMAs. "Minutes to Midnight," available everywhere, is the third album from Linkin Park.

For more information on Linkin Park, please log on to www.linkinpark.com.

About MTV Networks

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE:VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with 136 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services - MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN/THE N, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 200 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

Source: MTV

CONTACT: Mariana Agathoklis, +1-212-846-5755,
Mariana.Agathoklis@mtvstaff.com, or Matthew Hutchison, +1-212-846-8052,
Matthew.Hutchison@mtvstaff.com

Web site:

http://www.mtv.com/
http://www.vmtv.com/
http://www.linkinpark.com/

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