[chiph]

In the list of advertisers in the back of Automobile magazine (September issue), MINI is listed along with this URL:

http://www.mission-miniusa.com

The only other mention I've seen on MINI2 of this is in thread:
http://www.mini2.com/forum/showthrea...i&pagenumber=2

Chip H.

[MINIjewel]

MINI Press Release:

YOUR CHANCE TO JOIN MINI FOR A BARCELONA ADVENTURE

PRIVATE INVESTIGATORS SOUGHT TO SOLVE ‘SPECTACULAR ART THEFT’

Woodcliff Lake, June 19 2002, …Think you’d make a good Private Eye? How would you like to solve crime while motoring around one of Europe’s top cities in a MINI Cooper S?
Now’s your chance as MINI USA announces MISSION MINI, a global ‘whodunit’ based on an unsolved crime story by best-selling author Val McDermid. Members of the public can register on-line at www.mission-minusa.com and lucky winners will fly to Barcelona to take part in the mystery in early November.
A team of four U.S. amateur investigators will join 76 others from 16 countries for the event. They will drive the roads and narrow alleys of the fast-moving Spanish metropolis in MINI Cooper S’ to solve the ’theft’ of valuable works of art. The event will also feature spectacular car stunts very much in the MINI mold.
Although the theft is a work of fiction, the art is real – commissioned from Peter Halley, the New York artist renowned for his abstract geometric work.
Fiction Meets Reality
Val McDermid, the Scottish crime author, has written a short open-ended story culminating in the mysterious robbery of six valuable art collages from a contemporary American gallery in Barcelona. The book’s hero, Sam Cooper, is asked to find the thieves and he calls on the help of the 80 international agents.
Reality Meets Fiction
The fictional crime is solved in real time, on location in Barcelona with real people. Enthusiastic would-be crimebusters can register at www.mission-miniusa.com. Once the site is fully operational, registrants will be informed of the selection process for the U.S. team.

The Principle Of Real-Life Fiction.
The principle of real-life fiction extends throughout MISSION MINI: not only is McDermid’s story made up of a fictitious and real elements, the art is real and the various characters in the story – suspects, witnesses, Sam Cooper’s clients and adverseries – also come to life during the four-day event in the capital of Catalonia. They appear at various scenes in the plot, where investigators can ask questions and interrogate witnesses. And of course, the spectacular stunt scenes in the story are presented live with MINI Cooper S’.
MISSION MINI Philosophy.
MISSION MINI again demonstrates MINI’s strategy of unconventional communication – demonstrating MINI’s brand character and driving abilities in a distinctive way as well as uniquely incorporating the international worlds of art and literature.