Honda F1 team present "Earth Car"

By Alan Baldwin

LONDON (Reuters) - The Honda Formula One team are to replace advertising and sponsor logos on their car this season with a giant picture of the Earth to raise awareness of environmental issues.

"Formula One and the environment may not seem exactly bedfellows," team boss Nick Fry told reporters at the unveiling of the new 'Earth Car' at London's Natural History Museum on Monday.

"There will always be that last few percent of cynics but we found very strong support right across the world to do something in this direction.

"The global reach, the number of people we can talk to, is immense, so we can change minds. We are going in a more environmentally-friendly direction with the systems we put on the car and Formula One is really a laboratory for road car technology."

The team said, through the Web site www.myearthdream.com, that anybody could have their name on the RA107 car by making a donation to an environmental charity.

"Under the concept of 'our car is your car', each name will form a tiny individual pixel which will help build the image of planet Earth on the car," it said.

"Each name will be visible on the Web site when you make the pledge or under the microscope on the car."

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