Charlotte the cow goes polyphonic

School playgrounds across the country will soon be echoing to the sound of the farmyard as the Milk Development Council's (MDC's) School Milk Project launches a ringtone for young milk drinkers.

The new initiative, which aims to encourage awareness of the work of the School Milk Project features Charlotte and the Barbershop Cows in a 'Mootone', which will be available for school children and their parents to download free of charge from the School Milk Project's website www.schoolmilk.co.uk.

It is hoped that this ringtone (available from Friday 23 September) will encourage parents, teachers and local education authorities to find out more about starting milk schemes in their schools.

Diane Cannon, School Milk Project Manager, says: "Charlotte the Cow has already proved a big hit in the interactive CD Rom we produced this year. Schools that start milk schemes get a copy of the CD plus a leaflet for the children. Charlotte is getting the message across to children about the health benefits of milk in a fun and engaging way."

Not only is this a major health boost to Britain's youngsters at a time when the Government is actively trying to combat obesity in children and promote healthy living, but it also has a positive knock on effect for farmers and the dairy industry.

The benefits associated with drinking milk at school have long been recognised and since 1998, with the help of The School Milk Project, over 250,000 children across Great Britain have been enrolled into milk drinking schemes. This represents 8.5m litres of milk annually.

Miss Cannon finishes: "It's great to see milk is becoming more popular and it's proof that children are happy to choose it as an option. If this ringtone can promote awareness of the Project's website, and through that the work of the project, then even more children can benefit."