2005 Marks the 60th Anniversary of the Thomas & Friends Brand

5th July 2005

Mindscape, one of the UK's leading children's software publishers, has today announced the release of four re-published Thomas & Friends CD-ROMs. With an RRP of £9.99 each, The Great Festival Adventure, Thomas Saves the Day, Building the New Line and Trouble on the Tracks, will be released at the end of June to mark the Thomas & Friends 60th anniversary.

The deal, between Mindscape, Atari and HIT Entertainment, also includes the rights to develop two brand new Thomas & Friends titles.

"We are delighted to be given the opportunity to re- publish and develop the Thomas & Friends range of CD-ROMs," commented Jean-Pierre Nordman, Managing Director of Mindscape International. "The Mindscape group is committed to providing quality children's educational software around the world and the Thomas & Friends titles are a welcomed addition to an already strong portfolio of brands," he added.

Kids and parents can work together in these four previously successful educational CD-ROMs. They encourage learning and development in 3-6 year olds through stories and interactive activities, with the all-time favourite characters and locations from the Thomas & Friends series. These fun packages amuse and challenge first PC users, as they learn mouse control, hand to eye coordination as well as other PC skills (clicking, moving, cause-and-effect of onscreen activities). Rich 3-D animated graphics and printable certificates of completion through varying difficulty levels are designed to keep little Thomas fans interested.

It's classic pre-school play, perfect for young Thomas fans! Kids will love helping Thomas and his friends get ready for the big festival on the Island of Sodor in The Great Festival Adventure, then helping Thomas, James, Edward or Percy lay down new tracks to keep things running smoothly in Building the New Line. Trouble on the Tracks contains activities, with three levels, and clickable surprises interspersed throughout each activity. There's lots to see, and plenty to do, at every stop in Thomas Saves the Day, including colour matching, shape sorting and counting.

Features:

• Seven engaging activities in each CD-ROM

• Rich 3-D graphics and animations

• Favourite characters and locations

• Certificates of completion for each activity

• Specially created video footage featuring Thomas and his friends

The Great Festival Adventure, Thomas Saves the Day, Building the New Line and Trouble on the Tracks, will be released in mid July 2005 with a recommended retail price of £9.99 each. Two brand new Thomas & Friends titles are currently in development and are due to be released in Q1 of 2006.

About Mindscape

Mindscape, previously known as The Learning Company, publishes and distributes educational, lifestyle, games and value software around the world. Mindscape is one of the longest established software publishers in the market with well-known international brands and first class licences such as Paddington, Garfield, Disney Interactive, Web Creator and Elle. Mindscape also distributes titles for Dreamcatcher and The Adventure Company games. All Mindscape CD-Roms are available from www.mindscape.co.uk

About Hit Entertainment

HIT Entertainment PLC is now one of the world's leading children's entertainment companies with arguably the strongest portfolio of classic properties under a single management. These include Bob the Builder, Thomas the Tank Engine, Barney, Angelina Ballerina, Pingu and Guinness World Records. Since the company's launch in 1989 HIT has developed into a mini studio with activities spanning television and video production (with studios in the US and the UK), publishing, consumer products licensing and live events.