HOUSTON – Each spring, young fans of space exploration from 36 cities in countries across the globe gather for an annual celebration of the first human in space, Yuri Gagarin. On Friday, April 13, the Coalition for Space Exploration will bring revelers from across the globe together with the first-ever Web cast of the flagship Yuri's Night celebration at NASA's Ames Research Center.

The Coalition for Space Exploration, whose mission it is to promote the nation's Vision for Space Exploration, has supplied nearly 30 Yuri's Night parties with promotional products for its new advocacy site www.SpaceAdvocate.com.

"Through this Web cast, we will celebrate the birth of space exploration with the future leaders of exploration," said Joe Mayer, chair of the Coalition Public Affairs Team. "These bright young minds are the generation who will take us back to the moon and on to Mars through the Constellation program."

The Web cast will be streamed live Friday, April 13, at 7:30 p.m. PST on the Coalition's Web site, www.SpaceAdvocate.com. A link can also be found on both www.yurisnight.net and www.worldspaceparty.net.

Additionally, a Second Life® Yuri's Night celebration will be held for an entire 24-hour period, featuring streams from real-world Yuri's Night events all over the planet. The Coalition's Web cast will be streamed live in the online world of Second Life at http://slurl.com/secondlife/Space%20CoLab/96/234/596/. With more than five million residents from around the world, and tens of thousands of people on Second Life at any given time, the Coalition expects to reach a huge audience of young people with its messages of advocacy and education.

About the Coalition for Space Exploration:

The Coalition for Space Exploration is a collaboration of space industry businesses and advocacy groups whose mission is to educate and inform the public on the value and benefits of space exploration and to help ensure the United States will remain a leader in space, science and technology - key factors that will benefit every American, strengthen our nation's economy and maintain our national security. For more information about the Coalition for Space Exploration and the nation's Vision for Space Exploration, visit www.spacecoalition.com. For more information on how to become an advocate for America's space program, visit www.SpaceAdvocate.com.

About Yuri's Night:

Yuri's Night is a project of the Space Generation Advisory Council, an organization dedicated to developing the next generation of space leaders. Created in 2001, Yuri's Night encourages people around the world to celebrate April 12, the anniversary of cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin's first flight into space and of the first Space Shuttle launch. Parties of all sizes have been held on all seven continents, including Antarctica; this year's festivities currently involve 114 events in 32 countries with our flagship event at NASA Ames Research Center in Mountain View, California. More information on Yuri's Night can be found at www.yurisnight.net.

References to NASA Ames shall not be construed as official NASA approval or endorsement of any non-Governmental or commercial entity or activity.

About Second Life:

Second Life is a 3D online world with a rapidly growing population from more than 100 countries around the globe, in which the Residents themselves create and build the world which includes homes, vehicles, nightclubs, stores, landscapes, clothing, and games.

The Second Life Grid is a sophisticated development platform created by Linden Lab, a company founded in 1999 by Philip Rosedale, to create a revolutionary new form of shared 3D

Yuri's Night Partnership

experience. The former CTO of RealNetworks, Rosedale pioneered the development of many of today's streaming media technologies, including RealVideo. In April 2003, noted software pioneer Mitch Kapor, founder of Lotus Development Corporation, was named Chairman. In 2006, Philip Rosedale and Linden Lab received WIRED's Rave Award for Innovation in Business. Based in San Francisco, Linden Lab employs a senior team bringing together deep expertise in physics, 3D graphics and networking.

Note to editors: Second Life® and Linden Lab® are registered trademarks of Linden Research, Inc.