WINNERS OF INTERNET STORY COMPETITION ANNOUNCED

Information Technology Minister Maurice Williamson presented prizes today to the winners of an Internet competition combining writing skills with modern technology.

Organised by the Listener and Mr Williamson's Information Technology Advisory Group (ITAG), the Internet Fiction Competition was designed for entrants to compose a piece of fiction using Internet media such as hypertext linking.

"This is the second year of the competition. It's been a fantastic opportunity to show how traditional writing skills can be combined with modern technology to create something entirely new," said Mr Williamson.

The first prize in the open class of the competition was a joint effort entitled A Perfect, Perfect, Perfect Wedding by Coral Atkinson and Wolfgang Kreutzer of Christchurch. The second prize was another joint effort by Angelique Kasmara and Robert Hutchinson of Auckland. (Details of the prize winners and their essays can be found at www.cwa.co.nz/webfiction/prizes.htm).

On learning that she and her partner Wolfgang had won the $3000 prize, Coral Atkinson was ecstatic. "We thought when we put it all together that it was good, but you never dare hope you are going on to win it," she said.

David Hood of Dunedin won the third open class prize of $500.

In the schools competition the secondary school winner was Ian Simpson of South Otago High School - Ian wins $250 and his school a top of the line Compaq PC. The prizes are to be presented at the school on Maurice Williamson's behalf by his Cabinet colleague Bill English.

The primary school winner was a whole class at Tahatai Coast School in the Bay of Plenty. The class gets $250 and the school also gets a Compaq Presario 5346 Internet ready computer.

Second and third prizes in each of the schools competitions were $250 to the individuals and Sony Mavica digital cameras for the schools won by:

(2nd) Junita Douglass of Lincoln High School - Canterbury (3rd) Len Ritchie of Coromandel Area School - Coromandel

(2nd)Rosa Reynolds and Sylvia Whiting of Thorndon Primary School (3rd) Emma Aitken also from Tahatai Coast School Bay of Plenty

Arrangements are to be made for the presentation of the school prizes during the month.

"I would like to thank the sponsors, my ITAG group and the Listener for organising such a great competition and of course, all those people who entered."

The sponsors included Sony, Compaq, Nortel Networks, CWA New Media and Microsoft.