BEIJING, September 17 /PRNewswire/ --

- Grand Slam Doubles Champion Joins Global Promoters Venus Williams And 
Tatiana Golovin In Effort To Create Leadership Opportunities For Women

China's two-time Grand Slam doubles champion Zheng Jie has been named a 
"Promoter of Gender Equality" as part of the Sony Ericsson WTA Tour's 
partnership with UNESCO, the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and 
Cultural Organization. In this role she joins fellow Sony Ericsson WTA Tour 
stars Venus Williams (USA) and Tatiana Golovin (FRA), who were previously 
named as Promoters of Gender Equality for the program in November 2006 and 
May 2007, respectively.

Zheng, a winner of three singles and 10 doubles titles on the Sony
Ericsson WTA Tour, has already established herself as a role model for women
and girls in China and throughout the world. The 24-year-old from Cheng Du,
alongside compatriot Yan Zi, became a part of tennis history in 2006 by
becoming China's first-ever Grand Slam champions, winning the Australian Open
and Wimbledon doubles crowns.

In her new role as a promoter of gender equality, Zheng will raise
awareness of gender quality issues at both a national and global level, and
have a direct involvement in women's leadership programs to be developed in
China and internationally through the UNESCO-Sony Ericsson WTA Tour
partnership.

"I am truly honored to be serving as a Promoter of Gender Equality,
especially being the first one from China," said Zheng. "I take the job as a
role model very seriously, and I am looking forward to helping young girls
and women in my country and around the world to gain better opportunities to
succeed in whatever they wish to do. Not only through my efforts as a tennis
player, but also because of my passion for women's rights, I hope that I can
make a difference on this very important issue."

"I am very happy to announce today that Ms Zheng Jie is being designated
as the third UNESCO Promoter of Gender Equality within the framework of the
UNESCO-Sony Ericsson WTA Tour Partnership for Gender Equality, joining Ms
Venus Williams and Ms Tatiana Golovin," said UNESCO Director-General Koïchiro
Matsuura. "These accomplished young women serve as leaders and role models
for women and girls around the world, sending a singularly important message:
gender equality is not an outdated, impossible dream, but a goal that can and
must be realized in order for us to achieve peace and sustainable
development."

Zhang Xinsheng, Chairman, Executive Board of UNESCO stated: "The goals
and aspirations of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, signed
here over a decade ago, are still to be realized. It is my own hope that this
ambitious partnership between UNESCO and Sony Ericsson WTA Tour will bring us
closer to achieving them. The efforts China's Zheng Jie, along with Venus
Williams of the USA and Tatiana Golovin of France -- who are excellent role
models for millions of girls and young women throughout the world -- will be
key factors in the successful implementation of this timely and innovative
public-private partnership."

"The role of women in society is gradually improving, but there is
certainly a lot more work to be done," said David Shoemaker, Chief Operating
Officer & General Counsel, Sony Ericsson WTA Tour. "Through our partnership
with UNESCO, we seek to show the world that women should be treated the same
as men and to create real leadership opportunities for women and girls. We
look forward to Zheng Jie helping in this goal."

The UNESCO/Sony Ericsson WTA Tour partnership draws upon the history of
the Tour and players in fighting for equality, and marks a new level of
commitment by the Tour and players to raise awareness of gender equality
issues and advance opportunities for women. The program also represents the
first time that UNESCO, the only organization of the UN system with a mandate
for education, science, culture and communication/information which are most
critical for laying the grounds for gender equality, and which in turn
benefit from gender equality, is partnering with a professional sports league
for this objective embraced by all world leaders (2005 World Summit Outcome).

Key planned elements of the program include (i) a Sony Ericsson WTA
Tour/UNESCO Fund for women and leadership, which will be endowed initially
with approximately EUR200,000 as seed funding with the goal of reaching a
much higher figure through planned additional fundraising activities, (ii) a
"Promoter of Gender Equality" player program, which will involve players at
both a global and national level in awareness raising activities as well as
direct involvement in specific gender equality and women's leadership
programs throughout the world, (iii) mentoring, scholarship and fellowship
programs designed to create opportunities and the environment for women and
girls to succeed in all walks of life and (iv) usage of existing UNESCO and
Sony Ericsson WTA Tour tournaments, galas and conferences as awareness and
fundraising platforms. Additionally, the Sony Ericsson Championships
promoters and the city of Madrid will support the program through marketing,
awareness and fundraising activities. Advertising utilizing players to raise
awareness of gender equality issues is also planned.

UNESCO, with a Section specifically devoted to the promotion of women's
empowerment and gender equality ( http://www.unesco.org/women ) actively
supports women's rights, women's empowerment and gender equality as a global
priority in its five fields of competence: education, natural sciences,
social and human sciences, culture and communication/information. UNESCO
promotes the empowerment of women, women's rights and gender equality as an
overall objective in its five fields of competence: education, natural and
human sciences culture and communication/information. In particular, UNESCO
seeks to integrate a gender equality perspective into all stages of its
programme cycle from conceptualization to implementation and evaluation as
well as to promote greater participation of women at all levels and in all
areas of UNESCO's action.

The ultimate goal of these efforts is to strengthen the Organization's
ability to create the conditions for women and men alike, from all walks of
life, to enjoy human development and peace on an equal basis. In this
endeavor, UNESCO has a wide range of initiatives in all its domains as well
as special partnership programmes with the private sector, such as the
L'Oreal-UNESCO "For Women in Science" programme (
http://www.loreal.com/_en/_ww/index.aspx ), and the Mondialogo Partnership
with Daimler Chrysler which promotes intercultural dialogue among schools and
students through concrete projects ( http://www.mondialogo.org ).

ABOUT UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO) was created on November 16, 1945. As a specialized agency of the
United Nations, UNESCO contributes to the building of peace, the eradication
of poverty, sustainable development and intercultural dialogue through
education, the sciences, culture, communication and information.

Paris-based UNESCO provides a platform where global challenges for
humanity can be addressed on the basis of equality among Member States.
Founded on the principles of universality, diversity and dignity, UNESCO's
actions continue to be guided and shaped by a set of commonly shared values
that include justice, solidarity, tolerance, sharing, equity, respect for
human rights, including women's rights, and cultural diversity, pluralism and
democratic principles. As mandated by its Constitution, UNESCO helps to build
the defenses of peace in the minds of men.

ABOUT THE SONY ERICSSON WTA TOUR

The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour is the world's largest premier professional
sport for women with more than 1,300 players representing 75 nations
competing for US$62 million in prize money at the Tour's 62 events in 35
countries. More than 4.6 million people attended women's tennis events in
2006 with millions more watching events on television networks around the
world. The Sony Ericsson WTA Tour season concludes with the Sony Ericsson
Championships in Madrid, Spain, November 6-11, 2007. Further information on
the Tour can be found on the Internet at http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com .

Web site: http://www.sonyericssonwtatour.com
              http://www.mondialogo.org
              http://www.loreal.com/_en/_ww/index.aspx
              http://www.unesco.org/women