The New Lara Croft: Alison Carroll

The UK receptionist/gymnast Alison Caroll has just been announced as the new face of Lara Croft. No more Angelina Jolie? Not quite, according to the Telegraph:

“But Carroll has not landed a movie role – instead she will promote the new Tomb Raider video game, Underworld, which is released in November. Nell McAndrew found fame as the first Lara Croft model in the 1990s. Carroll will star in TV adverts and travel the world to meet Lara Croft fans.

“This is a fantastic opportunity and I am really looking forward to embracing Lara’s world,” she said. “I still can’t believe they chose me to take on the role of Lara – and I can’t wait to get stuck in. This is my dream job. I have always wanted to be an action hero and hope to be able to use my gymnastic ability to perform all of Lara’s stunts.”

No Pussyfooting Around With Japan

If only it had a mouth, that fatuous feline Hello Kitty would certainly be smiling.

Japan has appointed the mouthless moggy as a goodwill tourism ambassador in Hong Kong and China. It marks the first time a cartoon character has become a goodwill ambassador for Japan under the governments campaign launched in 2003 to promote visits to the country.

A Hello Kitty blog will be on the campaign website to introduce tourist attractions in Japan. Sounds like a game of cat and mouse to me.

P.S. Am I the only one who is freaked out by the fact that this thing hasn’t got a mouth?