HP has announced that it is hosting a charity auction to benefit the American Red Cross, that provides relief to victims of disasters such as Hurricane Katrina, and DATA (Debt, AIDS, Trade, Africa), the non-profit organisation started by U2 lead-singer Bono that strives to help Africans help themselves beat the crises of AIDS and extreme poverty.

To support these organisations and their causes, HP will auction signed, one-of-a-kind, poster-sized celebrity photographs taken during a recent film festival in Toronto.

Many photographs in the auction were captured by famed WireImage photographer Jeff Vespa, including those of Kate Hudson, Eva Longoria, Pierce Brosnan, Felicity Huffman, Kevin Bacon, Elle Macpherson, Elijah Wood and Sir Anthony Hopkins.

The charity auction also includes two photos of Bono and a unique photograph of Hudson and Kurt Russell taken by director Cameron Crowe and signed by all three.

The winning bidder in each listing will get the autographed, poster-sized photograph and an HP Photosmart 375 Compact printer, also signed by the celebrity.

HP will be matching all bids up to $1,000 for each listing.

People around the world

can support this fund-raising

initiative by participating in

the bidding on eBay at www.ebay.com/hp

A complete list of participating celebrities is also available on the website. Eighty-five per cent of the winning bid on each item will be going to support the two organisations; the remaining 15 percent will cover auction, listing and other miscellaneous fees.

Since 1957, HP has been contributing time and resources to the communities with whom it does business.

Among its recent contributions, the HP Company Foundation and HP employees have committed more than $3 million to the American Red Cross’ Hurricane Katrina relief effort.