Lenovo Auctions Off Exclusive Olympic-Themed Laptops

Research Triangle Park, N.C. — Lenovo is commemorating the countdown to this year's summer Olympic Games in Beijing with a philanthropic auction of 34 limited-edition notebook PCs featuring an Olympic torch-themed cover.

The first auction featuring these one-of-a-kind laptops is underway.

As a worldwide partner of the Olympic Torch Relay and sponsor of the Olympic Games, Lenovo is organizing a series of auctions around the globe that begin each week in a different country. A total of three auctions are open for bidding within the U.S. Other auctions take place in: Japan, Australia, UK, France, Russia, Hong Kong, Argentina, China, India, Brazil and Canada.

Over the next week, the first Lenovo 3000 V200 notebook featuring the “Cloud of Promise” design against a pure red base color is available for bidding. Most of the notebooks are also signed by Olympic medalists or athletes from around the world training to compete in Beijing. The current PC up for bid is autographed by beach volleyball Olympic gold medalists Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh. The remaining two auctions in the US will begin on July 8th and July 29th.

All proceeds from the auction will be distributed through the Lenovo Hope Fund to select philanthropies, including Right to Play. In the spirit of Lenovo’s sponsorship of the Olympic Games, the program will concentrate on micro-finance, small- and medium-enterprise development and bringing sports to communities of children.

“We are thrilled to offer fans the unique opportunity to own these one-of-a-kind Olympic torch themed notebook PCs,” said Deepak Advani, senior vice president and chief marketing officer, Lenovo.” Just as our technology helps bridge the physical gaps among different parts of the world, Lenovo’s goal is to do the same through social investments. In the Olympic spirit of internationalism and cooperation, it is fitting that these Olympic torch-themed notebook PCs should benefit worthy causes.”

The overall auction campaign runs from February 8 to August 8, 2008. In the final week leading up to the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, 12 notebook PCs, one from each of the participating countries, will be auctioned to conclude the program. The bid process is exclusive to specific countries and each bidder must purchase the notebook for use in their designated country. Bidders will be pre-qualified to bid in U.S. dollars.