Hong Kong – From 19:00 – 23:00 on 28 March 2009, National Geographic Channel will dedicate the programming on its regional pay-TV platform across South East Asia to support the Earth Hour initiative with four specific programmes of environmental protection and global warming. The channel will halt all programming during Earth Hour from 20:30 to 21:30 with a special one-hour factoid developed by the channel’s in-house on-air creative team. The factoid features an energy-saving light switch being switched off, with six useful tips played repeatedly during the hour to educate viewers about ways they can contribute to halting climate change through the reduction of energy consumption. Now in its third year, Earth Hour is a global initiative of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The event began in Sydney in 2007, when 2 million people switched off their lights. In 2008, more than 50 million people around the globe participated. In 2009, Earth Hour aims to reach out to 1 billion people in 1,000 cities.