Use SMS Soccer-Speak To Root For Your Favorite World Cup Teams

BEDMINSTER, NJ — The 2002 FIFA World Cup™ brings cultures and languages together as soccer fans from around the globe unite to watch their national teams battle for the World Championship title. The United States is home to people from every nation who will be cheering for their favorite teams and stars during this anticipated event, which starts on May 31 and goes through June 30, 2002. Soccer-speak is international, so Verizon Wireless customers in the United States can "talk" about the games with friends across the country - regardless of what language they speak - thanks to Verizon Wireless' Mobile MessengerSM short text messaging.

To help soccer fans communicate easily and quickly in any language, Verizon Wireless offers these text messages to help fans from every nation share their love of the game:

• Goal/Score = IOI
  Penalty = XX
  Miss = OII
  Player = #
  Kick = --O
  Referee = I
  Pass = -O-
  Goalie = 8
  Save = IXI
  Offense/Defense = >/<
  Win = :)
  Flag = I>
  Loss = :(
  Dropped Ball = T
  Hero = PELE
  Kick-off = X-O
  Injury = -/-
  Ball in Play = LO

   

  And use these universal abbreviations to cheer for favorite teams:

  Argentina = ARG
  Belgium = BEL
  Brazil = BRA
  Cameroon = CMR
  China PR = CHN
  Costa Rica = CRC
  Croatia = CRO
  Denmark = DEN
  Ecuador = ECU
  England = ENG
  France = FRA
  Germany = GER
  Italy = ITA
  Japan = JPN
  Korea Republic = KOR
  Mexico = MEX
  Nigeria = NGA
  Paraguay = PAR
  Poland = POL
  Portugal = POR
  Republic of Ireland = IRL
  Russia = RUS
  Saudi Arabia = KSA
  Senegal = SEN
  Slovenia = SVN
  South Africa = RSA
  Spain = ESP
  Sweden = SWE
  Tunisia = TUN
  Turkey = TUR
  Uruguay = URU
  USA = USA

  Mobile Messenger is Verizon Wireless' short text message service. Mobile Messenger is fast, fun, discreet and inexpensive. Customers can get Mobile Messenger in several ways. They can pay as they go for $0.02 per message received and $0.10 per message sent or select from three bundled plans: 100 sent or received messages for $2.99 per month; 200 sent or received messages for $3.99 per month; and 600 sent or received messages for just $7.99 per month. Extra sent messages are $0.10 each and received messages are $0.02 each. Customers need a two-way messaging-capable wireless phone and Verizon Wireless digital service.

  Verizon Wireless Mobile Messenger subscribers can also sign up for We've Got Scores to automatically receive customized wireless alerts for scores for soccer's biggest tournament, statistics and player information. The Every Change in Score with Summary alert keeps Verizon Wireless customers on the ball with immediate updates sent to their handsets as the action happens. To activate the alerts, simply log on to the Verizon Wireless Web site at www.vtext.com and follow instructions to set up the World Cup alerts they want to receive.

  About Verizon Wireless

  Verizon Wireless is the nation's leading provider of wireless communications. The company has the largest nationwide wireless voice and data network and 30 million customers. Headquartered in Bedminster, NJ, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE:VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). Find more information on the Web at http://www.verizonwireless.com.

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