Yesterday, Adobe Systems Incorporated announced Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 software, a major upgrade to the No. 1 selling consumer photo editing software, the company says.

Photoshop Elements software makes it easy to share photos with themed and customizable layouts, multi-page document options for albums and scrapbooks and over 100 framing choices. With drag-and-drop simplicity, photos can be moved and resized within these flexible layouts. The new Map View allows consumers to drag photos to any location tied to an online satellite map to relive memories based on locations where photos were taken.

Adobe Photoshop Services are easily accessible from within the application and offer new and fun ways to share photos. An interactive Adobe Flash® based photo gallery service - called Adobe Photoshop Showcase - allows photos to be shared for free, or upgraded to an extended sharing service via a Web site. These online galleries can take the form of a virtual scrapbook with flipping pages, a winter scene with falling snow or a spinning photo carousel.

Photos can easily be sent directly to CEIVA digital photo frames, shared via SmugMug online albums or turned into real postage at PhotoStamps.com (U.S. only). One-click printing also makes it simple to order Kodak prints, and using Photoshop Elements' new photo layout functionality makes creating and ordering photobooks a more personalized experience.

Innovative editing functions give consumers new ways to tackle common photo edits. The new black-and-white conversion tool adds a dramatic and elegant look to photos, instantly converting color originals to a variety of rich black-and-white photo styles with deep contrast. The new Adjust Color Curves controls allow consumers to achieve the perfect exposure for every image. Photoshop Elements also allows consumers to easily correct camera lens distortion.

Adobe offers a complete family of Photoshop products that meet the needs of a diverse spectrum of digital photographers: the free Photoshop Album Starter Edition software for the novice digital camera user; Photoshop Elements for the digital photography enthusiast; and Photoshop CS2 software for the professional or the most demanding amateur photographer.

Adobe's digital imaging and digital video products will be available in October 2006 at www.adobe.co.uk and other major electronics and online retailers including Amazon.com, Best Buy, Comp USA, Circuit City, Fry's, Staples, and Office Depot. Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 for Windows is available for an estimated street price of £69.99 (excluding VAT). Adobe Photoshop Elements 4.0 for Macintosh also is available for an estimated street price of £69.99 (excluding VAT). Adobe Photoshop Elements 5.0 plus Adobe Premiere Elements 3.0 for Windows is available as a bundle in the UK at an estimated street price of £99.99.