NEW YORK, Jan. 15 /PRNewswire/ -- MZ Consult NY LLC (http://www.mz-ir.com), a leading investor relations and financial communications firm, jointly with IR Global Rankings sponsors, The Bank of New York Mellon, Arnold & Porter, Demarest & Almeida, KPMG Independent Auditors, Bloomberg and PR Newswire, announces that the voting period for the IRGR 2008 is being extended until January 16, 2008. As a result participating companies will have extra time to enhance their voting campaigns for the Investors' Choice (POP+) ranking.

The IRGR, in its 10th edition, comprises five different rankings, four of which are by technical criteria: Investor Relations Website, Online Annual Report, Financial Disclosure and Corporate Governance Practices. The Investors' Choice ranking (POP+), is the only one defined by direct vote. After passing through the evaluation, all the results will be submitted to an independent committee for a final review.

The Investors' Choice ranking (POP+), by direct vote, complements the IRGR's technical evaluations and constitutes clear and direct feedback from the capital market on the quality and effectiveness of the information that companies make available. Investors, analysts and market professionals are invited to rank companies that stand out in the following categories: Best IR website; best financial disclosure; best corporate governance practices; best IR team and best IR program.

The following companies have registered for the 10th edition of IR Global Rankings: ABB (NYSE:ABB); Adidas (XETRA: ADS.DE); Advanced Semiconductor Engineering ; Agnico-Eagle Mines Limited (NYSE:AEM); Air France- KLM (NYSE:AKH); Allergan (NYSE:AGN); America Latina Logistica (Bovespa: ALLL11); Aracruz (NYSE:ARA); Arcadis ; ASUR (NYSE:ASR); Australia and New Zealand Banking (NYSE:ANZBY.PK); Banco ABC (Bovespa: ABCB4); Banco BPI (XETRA: BPI.DE); Banco Bradesco (NYSE:BBD); Banco do Brasil (Bovespa: BBAS3); Banco Espirito Santo (Bloomberg: BESNNPL); Banco Itau (NYSE:ITU); Bank of Montreal (NYSE:BMO); BASF (XETRA: BAS.DE); Bayer (XETRA: BAY.DE); BBVA (NYSE:BBV); BlueScope Steel(XETRA: BH5.DE); BNP Paribas ; Bombardier (XETRA: BBDB.DE); Brasil Ecodiesel (Bovespa: ECOD3); Brasil Telecom (NYSE:BRP); Braskem (NYSE:BAK); BRE Bank (Bloomberg: BRE PW); Bursa Malaysia (OTC:BSAMF.PK); Camargo Correa Desenvolvimento (CCDI) (Bovespa: CCIM3); Cameco (NYSE:CCJ); Cemig (NYSE:CIG); CGI Group (NYSE:GIB); China Telecom (NYSE:CHA); Cisco Systems (NASDAQ:CSCO); Colgate-Palmolive (NYSE:CL); Coloplast (CPH: COLO-B); Companhia Brasileira de Distribuicao (NYSE:CBD); Compania de Minas Buenaventura (NYSE:BVN); Controladora Comercial Mexicana (OTC:CDCUF.PK); Copel (Bovespa: TCPLE6.SA) Copel (NYSE:ELP); CPFL Energia (NYSE:CPL); Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS); CSN (NYSE:SID); CyberLinkCorp (Taiwan: 5203.TW); Cyrela (Bovespa: CYRE3); Daimler (NYSE:DAI); Danske Bank (XETRA: DSN.DE); Datasul (Bovespa: DSUL3); Deutsche Post World Net (XETRA: DPW.DE); Deutsche Telekom (NYSE:DT); E*Trade Financial (NASDAQ:ETFC); Enersis (NYSE:ENI); Erste Bank (EUX: EBO.EX); Estacio Participacoes (Bovespa: ESTC11); Euro Disney ; EVN (OTC:EVNVY.PK); Exxaro Resources (OTC:EXXAY.PK); FedEx (NYSE:FDX); Gafisa (NYSE:GFA); Genentech (NYSE:DNA); General Electric (NYSE:GE); Global Payments (NYSE:GPN); Global Sources (NASDAQ:GSOL); GOL (NYSE:GOL); Grasim Industries (XETRA: GRS.DE); Grupo Mexicano de Desarrollo (MXK: GMDB); Hochtief (XETRA: HOT.DE); Homex (OTC:DHMXF.PK); IC Russ-Invest ; ICA (NYSE:ICA); ICICI Bank (NYSE:IBN); iGATE Global Solutions ; IJM (OTC:IJMCF.PK); Indra (XETRA: IDA.DE); Infinity Bio-Energy; Infosys Technologies (NASDAQ:INFY); Japan Airlines (TYO: 9205); JDSU (NASDAQ:JDSU); JHSF (Bovespa: JHSF3); Kellogg (NYSE:K); Kesko (OTC:KKOYF.PK); Kotak Mahindra Bank ; Life Time Fitness (NYSE:LTM); Lupatech (Bovespa: LUPA3); M.Dias Branco (Bovespa: MDIA3); Marfrig (Bovespa: MRFG3); Masisa (NYSE:MYS); Mexichem (Mexico: MEXCHEM.MX); MTR Corporation (Hong Kong: 0066.HK); Natura Cosmeticos (Bovespa: NATU3); Natural Beauty Bio-Technology (HKG: 0157); Nedbank Group (XETRA: NCO.DE); Net Servicos (NASDAQ:NETC); Newmont Mining (NYSE:NEM); Nexen (NYSE:NXY); Nike (NYSE:NKE); Norsk Hydro (NYSE:NHYDY.PK); Novartis (NYSE:NVS); OHL Brasil (Bovespa: OHLB3); Partner Communications (NASDAQ:PTNR); PDG Realty (Bovespa: PDGR3); Peabody Energy (NYSE:BTU); Pengrowth (NYSE:PGH); Perdigao (NYSE:PDA); Petrobras (NYSE:PBR); Positivo Informatica (Bovespa: POSI3); PotashCorp (NYSE:POT); Powerchip Semiconductor (Taiwan: 5346.TWO); Procter & Gamble (NYSE:PG); Profarma (Bovespa: PFRM3); PT Telekomunikasi Indonesia (NYSE:TLK); QIAGEN (NASDAQ:QGEN); Rossi Residencial (Bovespa: RSID3); Royal Philips Electronics (NYSE:PHG); Ryder System (NYSE:R); Sappi (NYSE:SPP); Satipel (Bovespa: SATI3); Satyam (NYSE:SAY); Shinsei Bank (XETRA: LCJ.DE); SLC Agricola (Bovespa: SLCE3); SMIC (Hong Kong: 0981.HK); Southwestern Energy (NYSE:SWN); Statoil (NYSE:STO); TAM (NYSE:TAM); Tata Motors (NYSE:TTM); TAV Airports (ISE: TAVHL); Tecnisa (Bovespa: TCSA3); Telecom Argentina (NYSE:TEO); Telekom Austria (Viena: TKA.VI); Telekomunikacja Polska ; Telkom (NYSE:TKG); Terna Participacoes (Bovespa: TRNA11); TIM Participacoes (NYSE:TSU); Tingyi Cayman Islands Holding (XETRA: TYG.DE); Total (NYSE:TOT); Totvs (Bovespa: TOTS3); TPI Triunfo (Bovespa: TPIS3.SA); Tractebel (Bovespa: TBLE3); Turk Economy Bank (ISE: TEBNK.IS); Ultra Petroleum (NYSE:UPL); Ultrapar (NYSE:UGP); Unibanco (NYSE:UBB); URS Corporation (NYSE:URS); VCP (NYSE:VCP); VimpelCom (NYSE:VIP);Vivendi (XETRA:VVU.DE); Vivo (NYSE:VIV); Wachovia (NYSE:WB); Wipro (NYSE:WIT); Yum! Brands (NYSE:YUM) and Zurich Financial Services (XETRA: ZFIN.DE)

To find out more about IRGR 2008 or download the IRGR 2007 magazine with the winners and best practices, please access http://www.irglobalrankings.com or type IRGR < GO > in your Bloomberg terminal.

For further information, please contact Amanda Munhoz at irgr@mz-ir.com or by phone at +1 (212) 813-2975.

About IR Global Rankings: Solid communication with the investment community has become a key priority for investor-relations and corporate governance professionals in recent years, driven by the strong belief that stock prices and risk perception can be managed, the implementation of Fair Disclosure and other new regulations, and the growing importance of transparency for earning and maintaining investor confidence. The IR Global Rankings and Awards annual survey * sponsored by KPMG, Arnold & Porter, Demarest & Almeida, The Bank of New York Mellon, Bloomberg and PR Newswire * is the most comprehensive auditing and ranking system for IR websites, corporate-governance practices and financial-disclosure procedures. Based on extensive proprietary research of publicly held companies and investors, and supported by input from independent audit, corporate governance and legal experts, MZ's methodology is highly detailed, transparent and fully accessible to all participants. The annual IR Global Rankings and Awards Survey has grown each year since its inception in 1999(http://www.irglobalrankings.com).

Source: MZ Consult NY LLC