What’s Out There Is In Here Too

It’s a dangerous world out there, especially so when you are only about four feet tall and lack
the vigilance that staying safe dictates. Let’s face it, children need to be educated about
protecting themselves, more so when it comes to traffic situations. According to a 2004-
released study conducted by WHO (World Health Organisation), traffic accidents are the
leading causes of death for children in Europe. To aggravate parents’ concerns, this could
become the leading cause of deaths that could have been avoided come year 2020. In
Malaysia, the number of deaths resulting from traffic accidents in 2005 was a worrying 5623.
Total number of traffic accidents recorded that year was 328,264.

While DaimlerChrysler is all about mobility, one of our key goals is to make mobility safer. To
move a step closer to our ambitious vision of “accident-free driving”, we have been an active
advocate of road safety awareness for the young. Our MobileKids initiative was developed
together with international experts in 2001 to provide a road-safety platform for kids that is
entertaining, commercial-free and most importantly, relevant. This interactive program
sharpens the safety instincts of young traffic participants ranging from the age of eight to
twelve through Mokitown – a multi-player, global-communication network that allows
children from across the globe to interact, chat and learn from each other. On this colourful
website, youngsters can log into a virtual city on the world wide web named Mokitown where
they can engage in fun games that incorporate road safety themes.

This road safety “edutainment “ concept has won DaimlerChrysler several awards for its
ingenuity including the Bronze CyberLion from Cannes and Silver World Medal from the New
York Festivals.

As television is undeniably the medium that will reach out to the largest audience of children,
DaimlerChrysler had developed a 3D-animated cartoon series called The Nimbols as part of
their MobileKids initiative. Five young aliens who live in the fictional parallel universe of
Gravelox go through the typical trials and tribulations of daily life. Young audiences learn
about dealing with different traffic as well as life situations through the characters’
experiences. Unfortunately, the cartoon series has yet to be aired locally but potential fans
can log onto www.mobilekids.net to find out more about these intriguing aliens.

For the coming Kuala Lumpur International Motor Show from 26th May to 4th June, young
visitors to Putra World Trade Center (PWTC) can choose to participate in an offline version of
the Mokitown game which be held twice daily (and three times on weekends). Once
registered, the Mokis will compete against one another to vie for the highest score either
through participation in the Mokitown games or through a separate Q&A contest. The
winners of each session will be awarded with vouchers for Mercedes-Benz and Mokitown
merchandise that can be redeemed from the Mercedes-Benz display booth. An impressive
array of goodies like plush toys, T-shirts and funky backpacks await the safety savvy Moki.

To learn a bit more about MobileKids and Mokitown, you can log onto the
DaimlerChryslerMobileKids website at www.mobilekids.net.