Lib Dems viral push offers chance to re-spend Iraq war billions

by Joe Lepper, Brand Republic 08-Apr-05, 14:30

LONDON - The Liberal Democrats party is promoting its anti-Iraq war stance during its general election campaign, with the launch of a mobile viral game offering the chance to find alternative ways to spend the £5bn spent by the government on the conflict.

The Java-based game, called the 'Iraq War Calculator', has been developed by mobile applications specialist Masabi and is the brainchild of the party's Reading East prospective candidate John Howson.

Howson, who is trying to win unseat pro-war Labour MP Jane Griffiths, said he expected the game to get a rollout nationally if the Reading test proves successful.

"We expect it to be used and promoted nationally in a week or so, but at the moment though we are a pilot for it. This is the most technological general election campaign, yet so it is important that we take advantage of the new technology available," Howson said.

He added it was developed to not only highlight the LibDems anti-Iraq war stance, but also on a local level to promote the high number of technology firms in the Thames Valley corridor, including Microsoft and Oracle.

The game can be accessed for free on a specially designed website called Iraqcost.com, which has a link to the LibDems website. There is also an option to forward the game on to friends.

Previous political applications by Masabi include 'Pick the Prez', which was used during the 2004 US Presidential campaign by the firm to promote its services to potential clients.

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