Western Union launches Network Challenge in India!

One of the world's most globally connected companies, Western Union, is celebrating its 160th anniversary by launching a hunt for the most networked person in the world. With approximately 470,000 locations in 200 countries and territories , Western Union has an enormous global presence.

To celebrate this unique status, Western Union is calling for India's most globally connected individuals to step forward and take the Western Union Network Challenge at www.westernunionworld.com/yourworld.

The search will be fuelled by a new interactive, online Application called Your World, which Western Union has created to mark its 160th anniversary. It visualizes Facebook fans' global connections and users receive a score ("World Index") that shows how globally connected they are. They can compare their ranking against their Facebook friends, against others in their country and against others in the world! To enjoy the Application, users simply have to type in their Facebook log-in details.

Each individual's score will also contribute to the score of the respective country of residence which will provide the ranking of the most geographically connected nations. Being the world's third largest Facebook country with 31 million Facebook users , Western Union urges residents in India to take up this challenge and help show that India is the most globally connected country in the world! Fourteen days since the site was launched, India was the top country recording visits to the site (22.9% out of 461,850 visits).

Launching the Network Challenge,Hikmet Ersek, President and CEO, Western Union, said, "When we were thinking how best to celebrate our landmark 160th anniversary and the role we play in connecting people across the globe, Your World made perfect sense.

"We're incredibly proud that people across the globe have been inviting us to be part of their lives for 160 years. Today, we are online, on mobile and landlines, around the corner in approximately 470,0001 locations and around the clock, potentially touching the lives of one sixth of the world's population. That gives us a privileged and unique perspective on the world.

"We wanted to find a way to give consumers their own bird's eye view of their personal network in the world. As well as being a fun way to celebrate the power of human connectivity, Your World is going to create some fascinating insights, and perhaps encourage more of us to reach out to our fellow global citizens," Ersek said.

Anil Kapur, Managing Director, South & South East Asia, Western Union said, "Indians as a community is close-knit and take pride in being connected beyond geographies. The Western Union Network Challenge gives us a great opportunity to showcase to the world how globally connected India is as a country.

"Through Western Union's unparalleled network in India of over 80,0001 Agent locations ' we have been connecting more than 7,000 towns and cities across India to nearly every corner of the world for 17 years." Your World goes live today ' Go to www.westernunionworld.com/yourworld today and type in your Facebook log-in details to see your global connections.

At www.westernunionworld.com, there are other sections of interest ' Our History is an interactive timeline of Western Union's innovations and unique role in connecting people over the last 160 years. Our World offers both a global and close-up view of some of the 200 countries and territories Western Union operates in ' how remittances have contributed to economic well-being, and how global shifts in migration patterns have changed the way money moves around the globe.