Metrocon releases new dates and location for 2005

TAMPA, FL, December 16, 2004 – AnimeMetro.com officially announces METROCON 3 – Tampa, Florida's premiere anime convention – will take place on the weekend of June 24-26, 2005, at the Tampa Convention Center in downtown Tampa.

METROCON is a weekend-long celebration of the numerous facets of Japanese popular entertainment – from anime (Japanese animation), manga (Japanese comics), J-pop and J-Rock (Japanese pop and rock music, performed by “idols”) to cosplay (costume design and performance) and video games.

Events at METROCON this year includes: - The “Anime Human Chess Match”- Year 2, “Anime Idol” J-Pop/J-Rock Competition; - Artists' Alley; - A “gong show style” cosplay competition; costume contest; dealers'/exhibition room; “DDR Extreme” Tournaments; - An Anime Music Video contest (AMVs); - Official convention screenings of new North American releases; - Panels with North American anime industry guests; - Live Celebrity Commentaries with the industry guests;- Dances and karaoke; - The METROCADE video game room; and finally, continuous hours of Japanese anime and related programming.

Visit www.metroconventions.com for more information.