Sire Records to Launch Virtual World for Regina Spektor in Popular Online World Second Life

Next week, Sire Records will launch an interactive virtual listening party for New York City anti-folk chanteuse Regina Spektor that will enable listeners to experience her new album "Begin to Hope," due on June 13th. The official listening party, in which songs from the album will be available at six different 'listening posts' in a virtual New York City loft, will be held in Second Life, an immensely popular 3-D online world in which users, known as 'residents,' build and own their own content online. This is the first time a major record company has launched a virtual record release in Second Life and held a listening party for one of its artists.

Anyone who logs in and creates a free basic membership in Second Life ( www.secondlife.com ) will be able to view Spektor's virtual room where "Begin to Hope" will be played in the background. The room will feature places for people to sit and listen to the album and talk to each other about it, providing a communal 3-D experience for users. The environment of the room will change to match the mood of each song. Second Life currently boasts over 221,000 residents, with an average of 6,000 players online at any given time. There is no fee to register and become a resident.

"Begin to Hope" is the fourth album from the Moscow-born, Bronx bred Spektor, known for her provocative vocal style, prodigious piano skills, and idiosyncratic songwriting. Following two self-released albums, Spektor re-released her third, "Soviet Kitsch," on Sire Records in 2004. The former indie darling was hailed by critics for her "winsome voice" and for songs that have an "appealing honesty that can't be faked." "Begin to Hope" was produced by David Kahne, known for his work with Paul McCartney and the Bangles, and features Strokes guitarist Nick Valensi.

Second Life was developed by San Francisco-based Linden Lab, a privately held company founded in 1999 to create a revolutionary new form of shared 3-D entertainment. It offers a collaborative, immersive, and open-ended entertainment experience where residents can create and inhabit a virtual environment of their own design. Spektor's virtual world was developed by Millions of Us, Inc.

For further information, please contact: Luke Burland Warner Bros. Records Publicity (615) 214-1490 luke.burland@wbr.com