The Media Power Group, a leading innovator in the global mobile media market, today announced a private grant of $2 million to Canterbury University in New Zealand. The grant is dedicated to the University's Human interface technology laboratory research center with the mission of increasing the current available research and education dedicated to Augmented Reality (AR) and mobile computing technologies. This announcement comes on the heels of a recent pledge by The Media Power Group of $5 million to Georgia Tech University's Graphic Visualization Usability Center.

Professor Mark Billinghurst, Director of the HIT Lab NZ at University of Canterbury, New Zealand, is a pioneer in Augmented Reality (AR) and is focused on creating, together with Media Power, one of the largest AR teams worldwide and plans to leverage the grant to conduct further research and develop various applications. To date, Professor Billinghurst and his team have previously spearheaded advances which brought Augmented Reality to mobile devices.

"We are very excited about the opportunity to collaborate with Media Power and their other academic partners. Media Power have collected together some of the best AR researchers in the world and we are proud to be able to work with them on bringing this technology into the mainstream," said Professor Billinghurst on the announcement of the grant.

"Previously only viable in the research labs, Augmented Reality is one of the most exciting and promising technologies today," stated Rich Jenkins, CEO of Media Power. "Media Power is commercializing the technology and plans to make it available to everyone. By leveraging AR, Media Power creates an entirely new advertising paradigm for marketers, and media buyers to reach consumers worldwide as well as enhancing user experience on the handset."

About Media Power

Media Power is a unique tech company that develops consumer and business products based on Augmented Reality technology (AR) and other advanced systems. Media Power has two divisions: Magitech and GetFugu.com and provides a range of high-tech goods and marketing services for several clients.

For more information visit .

About HIT Lab NZ

The human Interface Technology Laboratory New Zealand (HIT Lab NZ) is a research institute at the University of Canterbury conducting research in next generation human computer interfaces such as Augmented Reality, Visualization, and Telecomferencing. With over 40 staff and students the HIT Lab NZ is the largest AR research group in the Southern Hemisphere. The University of Canterbury is New Zealand's second oldest university and home to its top ranked Engineering School.

For more information about the HIT Lab NZ see .