Just two years after People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals India (PETA) spawned its youth division, petaDishoom has grown into a force of more than 20,000 energetic young people who are raising their voices to challenge cruel, outdated attitudes about animals. So to celebrate petaDishoom's unprecedented success, visitors to www.petaDishoom.com can register to win a brand-new Gibson Les Paul guitar. And while they are at it, they can see what their favourite musicians, actors, athletes and other celebrities have to say about being kind to animals in exclusive online interviews. This month's interviews include Rajneesh Duggal, Udita Goswami and Dipannita Sharma.

Tens of thousands of young people learned about petaDishoom at top universities across the country, including IIMs, IITs, Lady Sriram College, Delhi, MICA, Ahmedabad, BITS Pilani, Sydenham College, Mumbai, St Xavier's College-Mumbai, National Law School-Bangalore and many others. Issues addressed by petaDishoom range from KFC suppliers' farming and slaughter abuses to animal exploitation for "entertainment" to protection for India's wild elephants and much more.

Award-winning actor and PETA pal John Abraham aptly sums up petaDishoom's mission: "Speak up for animals, and take action to stop animal abuse when you see it. If you don't, who will? You are the animals' only hope."

The contest – which also appears on the website www.vindia.com – is a joint venture between petaDishoom, Gibson Guitar Corporation and ANECHO, a website that promotes animal rights by showcasing animal-friendly rock bands. In addition, petaDishoom has created a brand-new ad to promote the contest (copy follows).

Gibson is known worldwide for producing classic models in every major style of fretted instrument, including acoustic and electric guitars, mandolins and banjos. Gibson's HD.6X-PRO Digital Guitarand the Gibson Robot Guitar represent the biggest advances in electric-guitar design in more than 70 years. Founded in 1894 in Kalamazoo, Michigan, and headquartered in Nashville since 1984, Gibson's family of brands now includes Epiphone, Dobro, Maestro, Kramer, Steinberger, Tobias, Echoplex, Electar, Flatiron, Gibson Baldwin Music Education, Slingerland, Valley Arts, Maestro, Oberheim, Sunshine Piano, Take Anywhere Technology, Baldwin, J&C Fischer, Chickering, Hamilton and Wurlitzer. For more details, visit Gibson's website at www.gibson.com.

For more information and to register for the contest, please visit www.petaDishoom.com.

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PETA India, based in Mumbai, was launched in January 2000. PETA India operates under the simple principle that animals are not ours to eat, wear, experiment on or use for entertainment, while educating policymakers and the public about animal abuse and promoting an understanding of the right of all animals to be treated with respect.

PETA India focuses primarily on the areas in which the greatest numbers of animals suffer the most: in the food and leather industries, laboratories and the entertainment industry. PETA India’s investigative work, public education efforts, research, animal rescues, legislative work, special events, celebrity involvement and national media coverage have resulted in countless improvements to the quality of life for animals and have saved countless animals’ lives.