Official opening of the BMW Group EarthLounge

Johannesburg/Munich, August 26. 2002. Today, the BMW Group EarthLounge and
Exhibition opened at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development.
The EarthLounge, a unique dome-like construction and symbol of the earth,
already turns out to be one of the attractions for delegates and visitors of
the Summit. It stands close to the Summit Convention Center at Sandton Square
and offers information on key sustainability topics by the BMW Group as well as
excellent opportunities for individual discussions between company
representatives and key stakeholders. At night it turns into a magically
illuminated venue for a series of events on sustainability topics.

As a venue for the evening events, the 24-meter wide and 12 meter high
translucent hemisphere representing the Earth, features the planet and the
people. During the evenings, hi resolution images of the Earth will be
projected from within the domed structure, thus making it visible to Summit
delegates and other visitors inside and outside the BMW Group EarthLounge. To
make all this happen, the team from the BMW Group relied on leading-edge
technologies and specialists, integrating the following core technologies:

A 6 Projector ZEISS ADLIP (All Dome Laser Image Projection) System of the Carl
Zeiss Company of Jena Germany. The ADLIP System itself features a special
configuration using double the normal laser power to each projector head. The
extra power was specified to increase brightness and color saturation to the
already stunning laser video images in order to compensate for the high ambient
light of Sandton Square.

The SkyVision Hi-Definition Video System of Sky-Skan Inc., USA, delivering 6
channels of Hi-Definition Video to the full dome.

Directed by and featuring original footage from video production company
Exponent 3 from Munich, Germany, the program is a technical marvel itself with
up to 26 simultaneous video streams set against the backdrop of a super-high
resolution image of the Earth in rotation.

In addition to the pre-rendered show sequences, SkyVision's Real-Time Digital
Sky provides other views of the Earth. With 6km per pixel resolution across the
EarthLounge screen, the system is showing the Earth with or without clouds,
during the daytime, nighttime or a special "moon glow" mode where the
landmasses remain visible. The latter images are especially interesting to the
Summit delegates as it clearly shows the distribution of light in urban areas
throughout the World.

The entire project was conceived and realized by the communications consultancy
ECC KohtesKlewes in Bonn/Munich together with the ag4 mediatecture company in
Cologne, Germany.

During daytime, the huge structure is covered by a fully printed, 900 square
meter balloon-silk cover with a colorful reproduction of the Earth's surface.
This cover can be removed and replaced in any time by a specially developed
mechanism.

This installation features four world premiers:

1. For the first time the ADLIP Laser-Video-Projection-System by Carl Zeiss
is
presented to the public.

2. The BMW EarthLounge features the largest full-dome video projection in the
world. The SkyVision Realtime DigitalSky system is presented to the public for
the first time.

3. The projected Image is the largest and highest resolution Image of the
Earth ever projected

4. For the first time a custom removable cover has been produced for a dome

From the 26. August until 04.September 2002 summit delegates and visitors to
the BMW Group EarthLounge have the opportunity to learn more about the future
of sustainable mobility. Further information on the presence of the BMW Group
at the World Summit of Sustainable Development can be found on the following
website:

www.worldsummit.de.

For questions please contact:

Corporate Communications

Andreas Klugescheid, Technologiekommunikation, CleanEnergy
Telephone: +49 89 382-25505, Fax: +49 89 382-27563

Dr. Tobias Nickel, Technologiekommunikation
Telephone: +49 89 382-27072, Fax: +49 89 382-27563

Media Website: www.press.bmwgroup.com
e-mail: presse@bmw.de