Skinkers, communication you can't miss

Featuring an animated version of the Red Nose Day nose, the desktop character will bring news, videos, interactive content and fundraising information straight to their desktop. And in keeping with this year's theme, "Big Hair & Beyond", the character will undergo a makeover during each week of the campaign.

The service forms part of Comic Relief's online marketing strategy which includes a redesigned website providing a secure e-commerce platform for live transaction authorisations. Red Nose Day 2003 received over £3.7m in online donations and Comic Relief hopes to beat this during RND '05.

Rob Noble, COO of Skinkers commented: "It's great that we are in a position to be able to offer our help and support for something as worthwhile as Comic Relief. The character will not only be a valuable service for everyone interested in the latest news and information on the campaign, but will also bring some of the spirit and fun of Red Nose Day to desktops all over the country".

Amanda Horton-Mastin, Comic Relief's Director of New Media and Development, said: "Comic Relief's online marketing strategy is central to new media fundraising, and it's fully integrated into the larger fundraising campaign. We hope it will help increase engagement with the campaign and motivate people to fundraise to help tackle poverty in the UK and Africa".