A DIGITAL marketing company in Hampshire has sorted out the nuts and bolts of online publicity for animated cinema blockbuster ROBOTS.

Lawton eMarketing, part of Lawton Communications Group, hooked up with US studio giant Twentieth Century Fox International to reach out to 140 countries.

Computer animated characters from the film, which features the voices of movie stars like Ewan McGregor, Halle Berry and Mel Brooks, are soon to appear on the personal computers of millions of people around the world - mainly children.

These dimensional "screen buddies", or avatars, utilise cutting-edge digital

technology.

By simply downloading the screen buddies from the ROBOTS website - www.robotsmovie.com - the two main characters, Rodney Copperbottom and Fender, come to life.

The avatar program was created through a software application called AdMonkey, an in-depth content management system designed by Lawton, which employs 110 people in Southampton.

Lawton eMarketing's head of entertainment, Mark Cox, said: "Our ROBOTS application is one of our most adventurous projects to date, pushing the boundaries of creativity, while maintaining a solid marketing platform."

The regional charity premiere of the film was held two days ago at LeisureWorld's Odeon in Southampton, with another Lawton client, pop punk band Freefaller, playing at the pre-movie party.

Money raised from the event will go to city-based cancer research charity Leukaemia Busters.