New Bond girl Gemma Arterton will be the ambassador of the movie franchise's first ever fragrance, being produced in conjunction with Avon.

Bond Girl 007 will be launched globally this October, and is the first time that the Bond brand has teamed up with a beauty company to create a signature fragrance.

Arterton, who plays Agent Fields in the new Bond instalment Quantum of Solace, will star in a print and advertising campaign for the perfume.

New Zealand filmmaker Andrew Adamson said that after directing two "Chronicles of Narnia" epics, he is ready to hand the franchise off to someone else.

"Michael Apted (The World Is Not Enough) is directing the third Narnia entitled 'The Voyage of the Dawn Treader'," Adamson recently told UPI while promoting the second "Narnia" film "Prince Caspian."

"I'll be producing (the third one)," Adamson added. "I think (Apted is) up for the challenge. He'll bring a different perspective to it. He's very cognizant of what we've done and what we're building and the places and locations we've established and, at the same time, he wants to make his own film."

Joseph Connolly got hooked on 007 when he was 12 and has been busy collecting the novels - from paperbacks to first editions - ever since. Here he provides a bookworm's guide

I have yet to meet a man, certainly one of my vintage, who does not remember, with awe and a shiver of something not quite understood, the first time that - pop-eyed and with tingling fingers - he turned the pages of a James Bond novel. I used to gaze with longing at the racy paperback covers and inhale the very pages.

A licence to kill has turned into a licence to print money. The family of Ian Fleming is set to boost its fortune with the publication next week of a new James Bond novel. The initial print run is 400,000 copies in Britain and America, and the possibility of a spin-off film is strong.

The book, written by Sebastian Faulks to mark the centenary of Fleming’s birth, is thought to place 007 at the centre of the heroin trade during the cold war. There has been tight secrecy surrounding the plot but a few details have trickled out – a female character called Poppy is said to feature prominently.

The theory appears to be borne out by the cover of the novel, Devil May Care, which features a blood-spattered opium poppy with the outline of a naked woman forming the stem

Fleming’s family are banking on Faulks, 55 – who has won a loyal readership with his sensitive depiction of women – to provide them with a bestseller that will help to revive the flagging literary legacy of Bond’s creator.

Leonardo DiCaprio may one day be able to add Ian Fleming to the list of real historical figures that he's impersonated on screen. The Oscar-nominated actor's Appian Way company recently came on as producer of "Fleming," an original screenplay written by Damian Stevenson about the life of the British author and journalist who created James Bond.

"It's going to be very different from the Bond films," says producer Andrew Lazar, who first championed the project. "There are a lot of different ways to crack biopics, but we're not trying to emulate a Bond movie . . . The idea that this guy's life informed the James Bond character is pretty fascinating."

This summer, help yourself to a thrilling read with a selection of original James Bond novels, courtesy of The Times.

This Saturday 17th May, you’ll find the Ian Fleming classic, Octopussy, inside your copy of The Times.

For secret agent 007, international espionage can be a dirty business. Whether he is tracking down a wayward major who has taken a deadly secret with him to the Caribbean, or touching down in New York to stop a former operative falling into the clutches of the KGB, James Bond always closes the case – with extreme prejudice.

Then pick up five more titles – one each day from Monday to Friday – when you buy The Times in WHSmith.

A top psychic has urged the producers of the new James Bond movie 'Quantum of Solace' to change the Hallowe'en release date of the film - or risk encouraging more bad luck.

Dean 'Midas' Maynard, who uses supernatural powers to help British sports teams and celebrities over slumps, has offered his help to 007 Daniel Craig and the cast and crew of the film.

He believes the recent accidents, which have dogged the Bond sets in South America and Europe, are part of a curse that hangs over the film.

The new James Bond film will depict aerial action as never before, thanks to the so-called Snakehead camera, designed and built by SpaceCam Systems using SolidWorks 3D CAD.

The unit is the first plane-mounted gyroscopically stabilised, remotely controlled periscope, with a 360-degree spherical range of view, that’s also compatible with movie and HD cameras.

Veteran aerial cinematographer Dwayne McClintock, also a mechanical engineer who co-designed the system, says the camera provides super high quality resolution, with the lens maintaining a level horizon, “solidifying a frame of reference to keep viewers in the story”.

With the Snakehead, pilots can fly as aggressively as they dare, he says, without sacrificing the drama of the shot – proven last month in the canyons of Baja, Mexico, for the upcoming Bond film, Quantum of Solace. “We shot some astonishing footage, like nothing you’ve seen before.”

In Activision's Q4 / Fiscal 2008 Earnings Conference Call posted earlier today, Activision's President and Chief Executive Officer of Publishing Mike Griffith spoke briefly about what to expect with the company's first game based on the James Bond franchise. Activision will be launching a Quantum of Solace videogame concurrently with the release of the movie, and the company is psyched up to be bringing Bond fans their next encounter with the world's greatest secret agent.

Only a few seconds were dedicated to talking about this new Bond game, but at least one bullet point was a doozy: Activision announced that Quantum of Solace will use the same amazing engine (at least on some platforms) that powered 2007's graphically-astounding Call of Duty 4. According to Griffith, Quantum of Solace, "uses the Call of Duty 4 engine and technology to bring Bond games to a new level."

Another mishap has befallen the set of "Quantum of Solace", as a film's technician has reportedly been knifed by a woman he picked up in an Austrian bar.

The 58-year-old British man, who was working on Quantum Of Solace, was reported by the UK Daily Mail as being found "lying unconscious in a pool of blood yesterday morning after a night out."

Police say an unidentified woman he had met that night in a bar attacked him in the bedroom of her house in Austria. A police spokesman said: "The woman appears to have attacked the man with a steak knife in the bedroom.

He survived the attack, is listed as "critical" and is now said to be recovering in hospital, according to Bond production offices, reports the Mail.

Actor Toby Stephens, who played villain Gustav Graves in Die Another Day, will play James Bond in the first full radio adaptation of Dr No.

Poirot star David Suchet will play villain Dr No in the Radio 4 adaption, being broadcast on May 24th to mark 100 years since author Ian Fleming's birth.

The station will also air a documentary following Fleming's niece's attempts to find out more about her uncle.

Work on a possible James Bond film theme has been abandoned because singer Amy Winehouse is not ready to make music, producer Mark Ronson has said.

The Brit award winner told Sky News that "unless by some miracle of science it gets recorded and someone sings a vocal," the song would not materialise.

Winehouse's spokesman said the decision was taken because she had "other ideas" about how the song should be developed.

The 007 star insists on doing most of his own stunts - and suffered a string of injuries while filming his first outing as the superspy.

So, with his second Bond movie promising to deliver twice as much action, his body is now insured for up to £5million.

A source at EON Productions, the company behind the film, said: “It’s fair to say that with this movie, Daniel’s insurance premiums have gone through the roof.

“I can’t say for sure how much but there has been talk of him being insured for at least a few million, even five.

Amy Winehouse has recorded a song that could be used in the next James Bond film, says producer Mark Ronson.

Ronson tells the BBC that although the pair have written the song, it will not neccesarily be used in the film: "Hopefully it will get used. But I don't think we've been guaranteed it, so we're working on it and we'll see happens."

"I'm not sure, but hopefully I'll still be alive for at least twelve more Bond themes. If we don't get this one maybe we'll get another one."

Italian prosecutors have opened a legal investigation into the making of the new James Bond film after three accidents hit the "cursed" production in five days.

The latest incident left Aris Comninos, an “experienced” Greek stuntman, in a coma after his car collided with a lorry and then crashed into a wall.

Scene of the latest James Bond crash in Italy The driver of the car was airlifted to hospital Mr Comninos was involved in filming a 15-minute car chase along the shore of Lake Garda which was to form the opening sequence to the new Bond film, The Quantum of Solace.

Filming on the new James Bond movie has been stopped after a stuntman was seriously injured in a car crash while shooting in Italy. It was the second accident on the set in four days, and the third since January.

The near fatal collision happened in heavy rain near Lake Garda during a chase scene for Quantum of Solace, which stars Daniel Craig as 007.

In the carefully choreographed scene, which involved two Alfa Romeo cars and a lorry, only one car was set to crash, but the stunt went wrong. The collision badly crushed the front of the car driven by Greek stuntman Grecous Angelus. A second black Alfa Romeo car was left hanging over the edge of the mountain road after smashing through road barriers.

Author and comedian Charlie Higson is planning to write a new series of novels about the young James Bond.

The new sequence, which has not been officially announced, will explore the previously uncharted territory of Bond's sexual awakening.

"I want to have a break and do some other stuff for a while. But I'd love to come back and write some more," Higson told BBC News.

The fifth and final book of the sequence, By Royal Command, is due out in September.

We reported on Sunday about the crash of an Aston Martin DBS car used in the filming of the new James Bond movie Quantum of Solace. A video of the crashed DBS after it was pulled out of the lake has appeared on Youtube.

The driver did a great job. The DBS is totally trashed. It is surprising that the driver only had minor injuries.

The driver of James Bond's Aston Martin DBS which plunged into an Italian lake during filming yesterday described how he cheated death just like the hero spy.

Fraser Dunn, 29, was at the wheel of the £134,000 car when it skidded off the road and plunged into the icy waters at high speed.

He was left shaken but not stirred despite being knocked unconscious by the impact and when he came to the car was at the bottom of the lake - at a depth of more than 150ft.

Mr Dunn, who is an Aston Martin engineer and not a stuntman, suffered only minor injuries and was able to kick his way out of the car and swim to the surface - just like Her Majesty's favourite secret agent.

A stunt driver has crashed the car used by movie secret agent James Bond into Italy's Lake Garda during filming of 007's latest movie, Quantum of Solace.

The driver was delivering the iconic Aston Martin DBS to the film scene in heavy rain when he lost control around one of the lake's narrow curves.

Italian TV showed the car, reportedly the only one available for use in the film, being winched out of the lake.

The web address Bond.com has been put up for auction today, for a reserve price of $1million.

With the hype surrounding the latest Bond movie and yesterday’s opening of the Ian Fleming exhibition at the Imperial War Museum, the web address is likely to be snapped up for a record price.

The auction, which is being run by domain name marketplace Sedo, kicks off today and wraps-up next Thursday.

Memorabilia from the life and works of James Bond creator Ian Fleming has gone on display in a new exhibition in London.

The exhibition features rare material including Fleming's desk and chair from his Jamaican home Goldeneye, where all the Bond novels were written.

A blood-splattered shirt worn by Daniel Craig in Casino Royale is displayed along with prototypes for Rosa Klebb's flick knife shoes featured in From Russia With Love.

The exhibition will run from April 17 to March 1, 2009 at London's Imperial War Museum.

Olga Kurylenko may be a relative newcomer in Hollywood, but when chatting with the press she has the coy, teasing part down pat. When asked during a set visit last week why her character, known simply as Camille, is assisting James Bond in the new film 'Quantum of Solace,' she wasn't very forthcoming.

"There is probably a reason," Kurylenko says with a smile.

Pestered for more, Kurylenko succumbs and adds, "She's driven by revenge. And for the whole movie she's just determined. She's not the girl who is trying to please. When men get in her way, she quickly figures them out. But if they can't serve her in a certain way? She just wants to get rid of them very quickly."

"I love the fact we are doing James Bond," Craig says. "I could deny it all my life that I wasn't a huge fan. I have grown up with the franchise. Some of my favorite movies are Bond movies, and, as an actor, it's a huge challenge, but also a huge honor."

Craig also says that, while the critical success of 'Royale' wasn't a surprise, he wasn't expecting almost $600 million worldwide at the box office. Now, after an extended period of celebrating, Craig is hard at work on a new 007 thriller, 'Quantum of Solace.' Speaking from a stunning locale in the Atacama Desert in Chile, Craig makes it clear he's happy the character's emotional arc will be developed even more this time around, but wants fans to know that those beloved action set pieces are still key to making a good Bond film.

Letters between James Bond author Ian Fleming and his "Miss Moneypenny" have fetched £14,340 (17,860 euros/28,260 dollars) at auction - almost five times more than expected.

The collection, which included four letters signed by Ian Fleming and an annotated invoice with his initials, were sold by Dorset auctioneers Duke's.

The letters showed a close relationship with Jean Frampton, a secretary hired to type his 007 manuscripts.

Nowhere on earth is more tightly bound up in the James Bond story than Goldeneye, the beautiful Jamaican villa where Ian Fleming wrote all of the original 007 adventures.

Despite strenuous shoots, it seems actor Daniel Craig can't get enough of his James Bond character. The star says he has no plans of abandoning his 007 roles.

"Until my joints go I will keep going as Bond. I have no intention of giving up just yet," The Sun quoted him, as saying.

Earlier, rumours were making rounds that Daniel might only complete his current three-movie deal, but when quizzed about the reports, Danny denied them.

Gone are the days of James Bond villains with bleeding eyes or scars and fluffy cats -- the fictional super-spy's latest adversary has been given a contemporary twist for the subprime era.

Mathieu Amalric, who plays nefarious businessman Dominic Greene in the new Bond adventure 'Quantum of Solace', will have no physical villain traits and says his evil character's anonymity makes him all the more real -- and frightening.

"It's so difficult to know who are the villains today. They look like wallpaper," Amalric, one of Frances leading screen stars, said during an interview with Reuters on a remote desert mountainside in northern Chile that will serve in the movie as an eco-tourism hotel and his lair.

James Bond's last ride has finally made it to Queensland. Described as a DB9 on steroids, the DBS was unveiled at the Sunshine Aston Martin dealership at Southport.

Four DBS vehicles have been sold and the dealership's next allocation is not expected until late next year.

For $520,000 fully optioned including all on-road costs you get the most technological Aston ever built, full of space-age materials and lashings of carbon fibre.

Under the V-shaped bonnet, which can be lifted with your little finger, hides a 6-litre V12 that screams to 6500rpm and maxes out at 380kW of power and 570Nm of torque.

James Bond has an unlikely new nemesis. Carlos Lopez, the mayor of Baquedano, a remote town in northern Chile, burst on to the set of the fictional super-spy's new film, Quantum of Solace, earlier this week and was detained by police.

"He got angry, entered into a private enclosure ... caused public disorder and was detained," said a police official from Baquedano. "Now it is in the hands of the prosecutor."

Mr Lopez is reported to have been angered by what he called an "excessive" police presence in the small town during filming, and the fact that Chilean soil was being used to represent neighbouring Bolivia. This anger caused Lopez to drive on to the set between the cameras and Bond actor Daniel Craig, interrupting the shoot.

Fast cars and improbable chases have been key ingredients in the James Bond films since the series began in 1962. From modest beginnings in Dr No, when 007 outran his pursuers in a rented Sunbeam Alpine, the Bond car has grown in speed, sophistication and sex appeal. With each new model, James Bond has been able to impress us with his impeccable driving and unflappable demeanour and, more importantly, to transport us to a place where our fantasies and envy collide like so many henchmen in a car chase.

Here’s a list of the ten most impressive Bond cars in the 21 films to date...

James Bond actor Daniel Craig was named 'Britain's Best Dressed Man' for the second consecutive year by men's magazine GQ.

The first blond Bond was joined in the top 10 by fellow Hollywood stars Daniel Day Lewis, James McAvoy and Jude Law.

Sony Pictures and the producers of the 22nd James Bond adventure, Quantum of Solace, have unveiled plans to release the highly anticipated film in the U.K. Oct. 31, one week before its scheduled North American launch Nov. 7.

Audiences in France, Belgium, the Philippines, Jordan, Oman and Bahrain will get their first taste of Solace Nov. 5. The flick will then unspool in the Netherlands, Germany and Greece, among other countries, Nov. 6 before finally hitting the U.S. and Canada, as well as Spain, Italy and Brazil, a day later.

Gemma Arterton, who will be seen in the upcoming James Bond film 'Quantum of Solace', is to play the lead role in the new BBC adaptation of Thomas Hardy's 'Tess of the D'Urbervilles'.

Joining Arterton in the drama are Hans Matheson ('The Virgin Queen', 'Dr Zhivago') as Tess' seducer Alec, Eddie Redmayne ('Elizabeth: The Golden Age') as her love Angel and Jodie Whittaker ('Venus') as Tess' best friend Izzy.

Filming begins this month in the West Country in the UK

Carole Bouquet is the former Bond girl (Melina Havelock) and Chanel model whose life is a source of constant fascination in her native France. She captivated Gérard Depardieu, had her phone bugged by François Mitterand and was recently accused of having an affair with President Sarkozy. Here the actress talks candidly about drugs, powerful men and her new-found political activism.

The opening sequence of the new Bond movie will be the longest yet, stretching to 30 minutes before the credits appear.

Daniel Craig has spent three months filming a chase scene in Panama for Quantum Of Solace.

A Bond insider said: "It will be full-on action from the first second. Craig leaps from a Harrier jump jet into a speedboat and ends up in his Aston Martin. There is also a fight between helicopters. "It is the big set-piece to rival the chase when Craig was up on the top of the crane in the last Bond movie."

Until now the longest pre-credit sequence of a Bond movie was 14 minutes in 1999's The World Is Not Enough.

Last July, Ian Fleming's estate went looking for someone to write a new James Bond novel in honor of the late author's 100th birthday this year. They found Sebastian Faulks, the English author perhaps best known for the novel Charlotte Gray, which was eventually made into a Cate Blanchett movie in 2001. Faulks' mission was to pick up the 007 tale back where Fleming had left it in his last Bond book, Octopussy and the Living Daylights, which was published posthumously in 1966. "The idea," Faulks told EW.com last summer, when the deal was announced, ''was that it should read as though Fleming had written it.'

Now, Faulks' Bond novel, titled Devil May Care and credited to ''Sebastian Faulks writing as Ian Fleming,'' is ready for worldwide release on May 28 — the day on which Fleming would have turned 100. Plot details are under embargo, but EW.com has this exclusive sneak peek of the jacket art. Take a look. The shadowy, well-coiffed, and tuxedo-ed James Bond figure on the spine seems to indicate Bond fans could be in for an old-school treat.

What is “Quantum of Solace”? James Bond screenwriter Paul Haggis might not have any idea, but if MGM was kind enough to cc him on their latest press release, the Oscar-winner will gain a drool-inducing insight into the film’s plot, right alongside the rest of us.

Below is the spankin’ new, studio-approved plot summary of Bond’s 22nd flick. Does it leave you shaken, or stirred? Oh, and at the risk of sounding like a cheesy guy in an IROC is driving past us: “Spoiler alert!”

“‘Quantum of Solace’ continues the high octane adventures of James Bond (Daniel Craig) in ‘Casino Royale.’ Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal.

Fans have been invited to vote for the next James Bond theme.

Before the spy returns in movie form later this year, an audio book about Bond’s adventures is being released, and publishers Penguin are inviting people to vote for their favourite theme.

Musicians have been invited to submit ideas via Myspace.com/devilmaycarebook, and from Monday (March 3) fans will be invited to to vote for a week for the theme they want from a shortlist.

The book is the new Bond novel written by Sebastian Faulks. The winning theme will be announced on March 17 ahead of the book’s publication on May 28.