Volvo Puzzles the Greatest Mysteries of the Deep

Volvo Car Corporation holds global treasure hunt for real-life buried treasure as tie-in to Disney's new movie Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

Join The Hunt now through May 29, 2007 at volvocars.us/thehunt

IRVINE, Calif., May 10 -- Where in the world did Volvo sink its treasure? That's today's hottest mystery of the deep as tens of thousands of online treasure hunters across the globe vie to find a chest filled with $50,000 in gold doubloons and a key to a new Volvo XC90, at volvocars.us/thehunt. To inspire, entertain -- and possibly even distract -- all would-be pirates on their quest for the treasure, Volvo Car Corporation offers up some other great watery mysteries from over the ages.

"Okay, okay. Maybe it is a stretch to call The Hunt one of the greatest mysteries of the deep, but it certainly has got a lot of people flummoxed," said Linda Gangeri, national advertising manager for Volvo Cars of North America. "We thought some of our more prodigious participants might enjoy pitting their wit and skill against some age-old mysteries ... but even if they solve them, the only way to get your hands on Volvo's treasure is by joining our Hunt!"

  -- The Experiment in Suruga Bay -- There's something in the water in
     Japan's Suruga Bay. In the past few years alone, there have been
     sightings of giant squid, giant eel and most recently, a prehistoric
     frill shark. The primordial soup that is Suruga Bay also has espoused
     certain legends that include a mythical sea monster akin to Loch Ness
     and the fictional sludge monster portrayed in 1971's Godzilla vs. The
     Smog Monster.

  -- The Mary Celeste -- The archetypal "ghost ship," the Mary Celeste
     carried a crew of 10 and a cargo of industrial alcohol when it set sail
     in 1872. A month later, the ship was found drifting in the
     Mediterranean with no one aboard and nine barrels missing. While many
     theories have been introduced, none have yet been proven. However, one
     very important maxim comes to mind: "Don't drink and drive."

  -- The Bermuda Triangle -- An imaginary area in the South Atlantic, "the
     Devil's Triangle," is infamous for the disappearance of ships and
     vessels. A persuasive (yet scientifically unproven) account of the
     phenomenon was made in the 1978 Scooby Doo episode "A Creepy Tangle in
     the Bermuda Triangle." The age-old culprit behind the mystery? Ghost
     pirates, of course.

  -- The Sirens' Song -- In ancient Greek lore, the Sirens lured sailors to
     their doom from a craggy island perch with a haunting melody. Perhaps
     more mythology than mystery (it's all Greek to us), was the music so
     distractingly beautiful or awful?

  -- Waterworld -- The 1995 post-apocalyptic epic is widely considered to be
     one of the greatest enigmas in film history. It remains a mystery of
     the cinematic age how and why such an expensive and convoluted film
     became an international box office success.

  -- The Blair Cuspids & The Sea of Tranquility -- In 1966, the image of a
     rather unusual rock formation on the surface of the Moon's Sea of
     Tranquility casting remarkably long shadows confounded scientists and
     continues to do so to this day.

  -- The Philadelphia Experiment -- An alleged government-sponsored
     experiment said to have taken place in late 1943, The Philadelphia
     Experiment purportedly used electromagnetic radiation and gravity to
     make a naval ship temporarily disappear off the Atlantic coast.

  -- Billy Ocean's "Mystery Lady" -- This smooth classic cracked the R&B Top
     10 back in 1985 and scores of Billy Ocean fans far and wide still
     wonder if the singer ever, in fact, managed to "get something started"
     with this unidentified temptress.

  -- The Great Face on the Pacific Ocean Floor -- Some have argued that,
     when taken together, the topographical images of the vast ocean floor
     form the face of God. This supposition has met with resistance from
     similarly zealous believers who already are committed to the image of
     the Virgin Mary in a potato chip.

The Hunt, http://volvocars.us/thehunt, part of Volvo's official promotion of Disney's upcoming film Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End, is a challenging and engaging series of online clues and puzzles, that ultimately will result in one finalist going to the "burial" location to retrieve $50,000 in gold doubloons and a key to a new Volvo. The Hunt is open to participants age 18 and over through May 29.

In addition to the United States, Austria, Bulgaria, Canada, Germany, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Korea, Sweden, Taiwan, Thailand and the United Kingdom are participating in The Hunt.

Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End opens in U.S. theaters May 25.

Participants in The Hunt are encouraged to visit Volvo's treasure hunt blog and message board, to learn more and discuss the Hunt's developments.