April 26, 2005 - (HOSTSEARCH.COM) - Opera CEO Jon von Tetzchner is apparently a man who will stop at nothing to win over a customer. The Norwegian CEO claimed last week that if 1 million copies of his Opera 8 browser are downloaded within four days, then he would swim from Norway to the U.S., with a stop-over in Iceland for a cup of Mum's hot chocolate.
The out-of-shape techie has now had to make good on his claim as more than a million copies of Opera have been downloaded.
He is currently in the icy waters of the North Atlantic, "hoping that my extra pounds of excess body fat will create enough buoyancy to keep me afloat and insulation to keep me warm."
His is being accompanied by Eskil Sivertsen, the company's public relations manager, in a rubber raft with supplies and a book of inspirational quotes from ancient Viking sagas.
As of the writing of this article the Opera site appears to be down- swamped with Internet surfers eager to get an update on von Tetzchners epic (comic) journey and get a copy of Opera.
Good luck Mr. von Tetzchner!