lastminute.com’s new interactive giftfinder guarantees a Happy Christmas

Deciding what to buy difficult loved ones this Christmas no longer needs to be a nightmare as lastminute.com launches its first interactive giftfinder.

giftfinder uses a revolutionary system called VisualDNA to understand a user’s preferences and feelings by measuring their responses to a collection of specially selected images. It’s a really simple, unique and fun way to find great gift ideas.

Users are asked a series of image based questions and simply click on the images that they like. Their choices make up their VisualDNA which is then used to find the most appropriate Christmas presents. The gift ideas are sent back and the user can then refine and save their search based on price, or how adventurous they want the gift to be.

giftfinder has three search options, one allowing the user to search for gift ideas for themselves, but also to find ideas for loved ones by completing it on their behalf or even better sending them the quiz to fill out but without revealing the results.

lastminute.com Lifestyle Director Mark Bower said: “Christmas Day can be the worst day of the year if you’ve bought your love ones the wrong Christmas present, or you receive something you really didn’t want.

“The lastminute.com’s giftfinder guarantees everyone a happy Christmas because they will only receive presents they really want. It’s also a unique and fun way to shop for gifts and removes the stress of trying to avoid the crowds on the packed highstreets.

“This Christmas and New Year period, the only arguments will be over whether or not to watch the Queen’s speech.”

giftfinder’s VisualDNA technology, developed by Imagini, has so far collected the VisualDNA of over 10 million people.

Imagini Founder and CEO Alex Willcock says, “The partnership with lastminute.com giftfinder is going to let people discover gifts based on their feelings, which – as we all know – is the best way to pick find the perfect gift. The integration of the giftfinder will complement the lastminute.com ethos of offering users fun, exciting experiences.”

The service is accessible from lastminute.com, or directly via lastminute.visualdna.com.

Who is lastminute.com?

lastminute.com pioneered the online travel and leisure industry by offering people a 5* lifestyle for 3* prices, selling everything from flights, hotels, gifts, gig tickets, restaurants and theatre tickets all at the lastminute.

Since its birth in 1998, conceived by the vision of cutting edge entrepreneurs Brent Hoberman and Martha Lane Fox, lastminute.com has come a long way. We now operate in 13 European countries and the US. lastminute.com exists to help people make the most of their free time with new, creative and unexpected ideas for every single day.

In July 2005, lastminute.com and its group of companies including car rental gurus Holiday Autos and travel agents’ best kept secret medhotels.com all joined the Sabre Holdings Group.

For more information visit http://www.lastminute.com/site/help/about_us/about-us.html

About Imagini™

Imagini, the company behind VisualDNA™, has profiled over 8 million people since it launched its technology in early 2007. Imagini’s technology builds VisualDNA by collecting the feelings and motivations of consumers using image-based quizzes that identify and map preferences across a series of behavioural axes. This visual approach differs from traditional text-based tools since it taps into pure emotional reflex, offering businesses an opportunity to understand and engage with their customers in a much more sophisticated way.

Imagini’s technology has been used in collaboration with a number of commercial partners including PepsiCo, MyDeco, MSN and Nectar.

In 2008, Imagini launched Youniverse.com, a new social networking portal which was rated by BBC Click online as one of the best sites on the Internet.

For more information please visit www.visualdna.com

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For more information on giftfinder please contact Dom Whitehurst at Hotwire PR on 0207 608 8356 or email dom.whitehurst {at} hotwirepr(.)com