Asian lifestyle portal Redhotcurry.com has pledged the profits from January sales in its online shop to the Asian Tsunami appeal. The money raised will be donated directly to UNICEF UK. The shop, which launched last year, sells spice boxes, ethnic kitchen utensils, authentic Indian cookery books, Indian handicraft items and an array of other homewares, bags, jewellery and beauty products. It also stocks the latest Bollywood DVDs, Bollywood kitsch and a host of Asian Music CDs.

Editor, Mrs Lopa Patel said "Like a lot of people we wanted to raise as much money as possible for the survivors of the Asian Tsunami and pledging our January shop profits is the best way we could think of to do this".

Redhotcurry.com has been catering to the needs of curry lovers everywhere since 2001 when it started life as a humble food related site. It has since exploded into a celebration of Asian life in the UK with an informative collection of in-depth articles on race, culture, entertainment, religion, food, curry, ethnic fashion and beauty. The site has interactive discussion groups, web based email and a UK curry restaurant directory. The shop is a natural extension to the range of services offered. Used by Asians and non-Asians alike and with a mix of UK-based and international customers, the impact of the Tsunami has obviously been felt deeply by Redhotcurry.com users.

"I am most concerned about the impact of the quake on the 'tsunami generation' of children. UNICEF estimates about 100,000 children may be orphaned and I want to raise money to help these children get some stability in their lives. A mere £99.61 will buy a school kit for 80 children to allow them to continue their education. £900 would feed 30 children for 30 days. Imagine what a few thousand pounds could achieve" Patel added.

"I know that many people have already donated generously to the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) and other appeals, but we are not asking for donations. We are asking our users to do what they would normally do - buy things! All we are saying is buy them in JANUARY from the Redhotcurry.com shop, as all the profits will be donated to the UNICEF Tsunami appeal. By making our intentions clear, I hope that people will dig deep, plan ahead and buy things for all the birthdays, valentine's day, mother's day and anniversaries for 2005."

"It is difficult to estimate how much we could raise - it could be a few hundred pounds or a lot more. With thousands of pounds invested in stock, we hope that it will be a good deal more", Patel affirmed.

So what could you possibly want to buy from the Redhotcurry.com shop? Patel suggests looking at the range of unique Lapis Lazuli jewellery and perfume gift sets for Valentine's Day gifts. She also tips the hugely popular 'Bollywood Workout Video & DVD' by Honey Kalaria for those who want to get into shape for 2005. In the Asian Music CD section Jay Sean and Raghav are bestsellers from last year and she's already created a list of top ten Asian compilation CDs. "Nitin Sawhney and Bally Sagoo are both worth checking out. You might not have heard of them, but I'm certain you'll have heard their ground-breaking music".

In the beauty section the unique Mehndi Lace Nails are worth stocking up on for the Asian wedding season and in the homewares section the fair trade throws, cushion covers could give your home a spring-cleaned look. For curry lovers, Patel suggests investing in a Sanjeev Kapoor cookbook. She also tips the Bollywood DVDs. "Our Bollywood DVDs are already very competitively priced and delivered for free so I hope that enthusiasts will avoid buying pirate copies and invest in the real thing for a change. Don't forget that all the profits will go to the UNICEF Tsunami Appeal so not only will you enjoy the film more, we hope that it makes you feel good to know that your money will go towards helping orphaned children".

You can make a purchase by visiting the Redhotcurry.com Shop - click here.

DONATING TO THE ASIAN TSUNAMI APPEAL

Those who wish to donate directly to the Asian Tsunami Appeal can do so by clicking on www.dec.org.uk or www.unicef.org.uk

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