The race is on to land Norwich a place on the new UK Monopoly board - and it's time to get voting. That's the message from Norwich City Council after the makers of the best-selling board game started an internet voting race. The new Monopoly Here And Now UK edition is offering 22 places in the UK the chance to be on the new board. Norwich's bid is being backed by the Sheriff Of Norwich, John Drake. "I'm pleased to say we are in the race to get in to the top 22, but we aren't quite there yet," he said. "We need people's votes, we need people to log on, we need people to vote for their fine city - but the good news is, we're miles ahead of Ipswich!" Vote for Norwich Although landing a place on the board is just a bit of fun, Mr Drake said it's good to show that Norwich is one of the big league players amongs the locations across the UK contending for a place on the game board. He believes the city has a lot to celebrate. "Norwich is a vibrant, thriving city and we want to celebrate and attract people to the city," he said. "We want people to invest here, raise their kids here, develop business here, come to this great city of learning and say, 'Yes, Norwich is up there, it’s in the top league,'" he added.
 | | Felicity Hartley, Norwich Lord Mayor |
Of the 22 places available on the board everyone is aiming for the top, most expensive slot, the equivalent of Monopoly's Mayfair. But would it be a bad thing for Norwich if the city ended up with only just enough votes to secure the 22nd slot, the cheapest and equivalent to the Old Kent Road? "I know it's a bit of fun and I don't want to get too competitive - but we do want to beat Ipswich," said Mr Drake. "We also want to oust Cambridge from their position because I believe they are doing quite well in the votes. We've got to do better than that surely! "The Lord Mayor and I have the computers lined up and we are about to go and vote. Vote for our city, celebrate our city," he added. It seems the secret to helping Norwich land a prize slot is to keep voting too as the same person can log a vote every day until the closing date on 25 May, 2007. | 
