Hamburg, October 25, 2007
G+J/Mondadori in Italy is launching a magazine for children below reading age. Focus Pico, a new magazine catering to children ages three to six years and their parents, makes its debut on Italian newsstands on December 1.

On 32 pages, Focus PICO offers children stories, songs and rhymes, along with ideas for hands-on fun, such as how-to instructions for crafts, simple recipes, drawing patterns or stickers. Eight special parent pages provide practical hints for health, nutrition, recreation and parenting. Parents can accompany their children to www.focuspico.it to jointly explore the Internet and get used to the new media. Simple games provide a gentle introduction to the world of digital media.

Focus Pico is published every two months at a cover price of €4.90. Its launch will be accompanied by a promotional campaign on television, in print and online. FOCUS PICO's editor-in-chief is Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, who also serves as editor-in-chief of FOCUS JUNIOR.

"Following the successful relaunch of Focus this summer and the ongoing development of our focus.it website, we are rounding off 2007 with a new Focus-branded print title," said Rolf Heinz, CEO of G+J/Mondadori in Italy. "We see Pico, which is elegant and quite sophisticated, as an innovative alternative to the comics that currently dominate the market," explained Martin Trautmann, executive publisher of the Focus group and Vice CEO of G+J/Mondadori. Unlike the more instructive FOCUS Junior, which is designed for 8- to 12-year-olds, Pico aims to get children involved in handson activities.

The Focus group already publishes the monthly magazines Focus, Focus Brain Trainer and Focus Junior, the bi-monthly Focus Storia, and the quarterly magazines Focus Extra and Focus Domande & Risposte. Focus Pico is G+J's first magazine worldwide catering to preschoolers.

Alexander Adler
Director External Communications
Phone: +49-40-3703-2244
E-mail: adler.alexander@guj.de