Lara Croft's costume up for auction

Eidos Interactive has announced that it will auction off the original Lara Croft costume and donate the proceeds to UNICEF, the United Nations Children's Fund. The costume was worn by Nell McAndrew, Eidos' first Lara Croft model, to promote the Tomb Raider action adventure game from 1998 to 1999. The auction will take place on eBay.co.uk beginning April 26, 2002, and it will last for 10 days.

"This outfit is one of the most desired items in computer game history," said Jeremy Heath-Smith, managing director of Core Design, the studio that created Tomb Raider and the Lara Croft character. "We hope it will raise a substantial amount of money for a very worthwhile cause."

"Education opens an infinite number of doors for children and it is our hope that all children everywhere can receive their right to a basic education," said Rose Nelson, regional fundraising manager of UNICEF UK. "Sadly, though, more than 130 million children worldwide--most of them girls--are being denied this right. UNICEF is working very hard to get these children into school and we are so grateful to Eidos and the public for supporting our efforts."

For more information about the Tomb Raider action adventure game series, take a look at our previous coverage of the games.