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ViewPoint Studios and Las Vegas-based The Merica Agency recently teamed up to create a 3D spot for Cox Communications entitled "Desktop Animal." "The idea started with a direct mail piece to sell Direct Internet Access for Cox Communications," said Scott Robertson, creative director from The Merica Agency. The spot features various herds of animals that look like a computer mouse. "We knew and understood the client's concerns," said Mike Leone, lead animator for ViewPoint Studios.

Universal's SITTING DUCKS, a new CGI children's animated series, has been licensed in multiple international territories. ITV has secured rights to the show in the U.K., with other licenses going to France's TF1, Australia's ABC, Mexico's Televisa S.A., Portugal's TVI and Star TV in Greece. Cable rights to SITTING DUCKS have been acquired by Canada's YTV and by the Nickelodeon Channel in Australia. In the Netherlands, the show will be shown exclusively on the SBS group of channels.

London-based production company Stink has launched Skunk, a new animation house producing music videos, commercials and short films. The first project for the new company will be three spots for whisky brand Famous Grouse via ad agency Abbott Mead Vickers. Prague-based director Michal Zabka will helm the spots.

Phoenix Tools, an Italy-based computer graphics software developer, announced the release of Origami 2.0, a high-end set of modules and utilities for Softimage|3D, and a new Maya Shader plug-in. Origami 2.0 allows users to extract or reconstruct the lost 3D information from a set of photographs or a motion sequence. The new package is faster and easier, with greater reliability, giving the user a complete set of tools for all the steps that constitute the complex process of camera tracking and 3D reconstruction.

WizardWorks, a division of Infogrames, Inc., announced the first details about DRAGON BALL Z: THE LEGACY OF GOKU for the Game Boy Advance. Developed by Webfoot Technologies, Inc., THE LEGACY OF GOKU is an action-adventure role-playing game, which challenges players to defeat enemies throughout various quests in an effort to save Earth from the Saiyans and save the galaxy from the evil Frieza. In story mode, the primary mode of single-player action, players move from chapter to chapter, completing quests and fighting battles.