Whilst it number one aired in the UK in September 4, 1998, it was a surprising twist on the genre. L1 one contestant plays at once (similar to a bit of radio quizzes); & a emphasis get on suspense like than speed. No instance restrict to guide questions, & contestants come given a wonder prior to it must decide whether to attempt an guide.

Ironically, given the big prizes that it offers, a indicate is known as fallowing a 1956 Cole Porter song which emphasized the desirability of love across belongings: ''World health organization wants to exist as the millionaire? I personally don't. (...) & We don't 'stimulate completely I personally desire is smart shoppers. Working titles for the indicate involved Cash Mountain''.

A programme originated in the United Kingdom, in which these are hosted by Chris Tarrant & was based on the format devised by David Briggs, world health organization, along by using Steve Knight and Mike Whitehill, devised the total of the promotional games for Chris Tarrant's breakfast indicate in Capital FM radio.

A subdivision Original version describes the British version of the indicate. A segment United States version describes the America version. A division Other national variants describes differences in more countries.

Original version

At the beginning of every indicate, a carrier introduces a placed of tenner likely contestants, yielding their list & in which it is from either. the likely contestants stand to undergo a preliminary around, known as "Fastest Finger First", around which it is 100% asked to put quartet answers in the particular the correct sequence. (In a super number 1 series of the British version, & until the prevent of the 2003 year in the Australian version, "Fastest Finger First" called upin the contestants to guide a single multiple guide wonder right when quickly when imaginable) A contestant world health organization does this aright & in the fastest instance goes on to sit in the chair & play for a imaginable £1,000,000.

A contestant is asked more and more hard general knowledge questions per hikers. To every wonder, it potty order from either little joe multiple guide answers. Answering a number 1 wonder aright wins a contestant a little pecuniary prize, & the subsequent questions come played for progressively big sums. Whenever a contestant answers incorrectly it lose all the money it use at times won. Nevertheless, a £1,000 & £32,000 prizes come bonded: whenever the streaming video player gets the wonder incorrectly above these levels so it sink merely to the former guaranteed prize.

A sequence of prizes is when follows: £C, £200, £300, £Five hundred, £1,000, £2,000, £4,000, £8,000, £16,000, £32,000, £64,000, £125,000, £250,000, £500,000, £1,000,000.

a game stops whilst a contestant answers a wonder inright or even even decides does'nt to guide a wonder, or when it keep close at hand answered completely 15 questions correctly, at which point it win the top prize of £1,000,000.

In case at any point the contestant is incertain of the guide to a wonder, it might apply one of their terzetto "lifelines": it could "phone a friend" (existence given Xxx seconds to talk to their chosen friend, world health organization must exist as taken from either the listing nominated per contestant advance), "ask the audience" (receiving the bar graph of the audience's answers), or even go for the "50:50" (after a computer may "randomly" dislodge deuce incorrectly answers & leave the right guide & of these wrong guide. Extrthe typically than does'nt, whenever a contestant has voiced that it is stuck between 2 options, people ii options may "randomly" become them answers which might remain.). Every one lifelines may be utilized single it used to be that.

Variants on the format develop been tried, like celebrities playing for charity and couples games (in which two partners must agree on the guide). Tarrant's catchphrases on the indicate include "Is that your final answer?" & "but we don't want to give you that".

Inside the listing of the 100 Greatest British Television Programmes drawn up per British Film Institute in 2000, voted for by industry professionals, That Wants to become the Millionaire? was located Twenty-third.

The Major Charles Ingram affair
Inside an episode of the British indicate recorded in September 10 2001, Major Charles Ingram won the £1,000,000 prize. In the period of the recording it was found that a suspicious pattern of coughing can be heard. A Major's unusual behaviour in the "hot seat" likewise drew attention. While later analysed it became apparent that an additional contestant, Tecwen Whittock, sitting inside "contestants row" was offering Major Ingram prompts in the form of coughs, indicating the correct answers. In numbers of of the questions Major Ingram page through aloud 100% of the quatern answers, until the cough was heard, prior to finding his guide. Inside occasionally events he possibly dismissed an guide, page through aloud a answers once more, & picked an guide he experienced sooner dismissed.

Farther investigation revealed that a Major's married woman Diana (world health organizatiinside experienced won £32,000 on a former indicate, when got his brother-in-law) got organized the cozenage. a total of pagers experienced been purchased & telephone records revealed what appeared to exist as the practice for a second project to cheat the formulas that was non after carried out. A project was for a Major to hide 4 pagers in his immune system that would vibrate once an confederate known as the beeper indicating the correct guide. As the consequence a test at Southwark Crown Court lasting a year, Major Ingram, his married woman Diana & Tecwen Whittock were convicted of "procuring the execution of a valuable security by deception" on 7 April 2003. Ingram & his married woman were to each one given suspended Xviii-year prison sentences & fined £15,000, when Whittock received the Xii-year suspended sentence and was fined £10,000. Together by having legal costs, these are approximated that a Ingrams have had to pay £50,000 around amount.

Despite a conviction, a Ingrams & Tecwen Whittock prove my point to deny that it colluded or even acted deceitfully. It project to appeal a court opinion. An ITV1 documentary entitled "Millionaire: a Major Fraud" & conferred by Martin Bashir was broadcast in Britain in 21 April. Coincidentally, or even mayhap deliberately, a number 1 advert in the 1st commercial break in the documentary film, was of these for cough medicine. Selection from either a 2003 recording were broadcast with enhanced audio highlighting a coughs emanating from either Tecwen Whittock. Immediately after a to the full programme within its original format was broadcast in ITV2. A documentary film involved extra videos recorded when you took a programme of Mrs Ingram sitting in a audience & apparently prompting the Major by having her have coughing & making glimpse in the counsel of Mr Whittock. A documentary film besides contained interviews by using production staff & more contestants present at a recording of the original programme describing how else it felt that something unusual got been happening. Major Ingram described a documentary film when "one of the greatest TV editing con tricks in history". Celador Films, a sister company of the quiz indicate's producers Celador Productions, proclaimed within September 2003 that they were planning to turn the affair into the film, & licensed a screenplay from either award-winning television dramatist Russell T. Davies. A status of this task when of April 2005 is, however, presently unreadable.

In July 24, 2003 the British Army ordered Charles Ingram to resign his commission as a Major.

For an argument by James Plaskett in favor the innocence of Ingram, his married woman & Whittock, look at [http://www.portia.org/chapter14/frame14.html this item]. Plaskett´s essay led to journalist Bob Woffinden, world health organization got an extended instance interest inside miscarriages of justice, publishing the ii document article in the 9 October 2004 edition of the British newspaper the Daily Mail entitled Is The Coughing Major Innocent?

United States version
That Wants to Become the Millionaire foremost aired in the United States in 1999 and was hosted by Regis Philbin. Around 2002, a indicate was sent into day-after-day syndication and changed hosts to Meredith Vieira. A syndicated version doesn't include a Fastest Finger competition; contestants come upright brought out one by one in the period of every half-30 minutes indicate. Besides, instead of the telephone competitions of ABC's versions, there are elementary contestant auditions for the syndicated version, when within more giveaway. Two versions skip the wonder mark from either their official titles due to a superstitious notion all about wonder marks around film & TV productions.

the network versiin became explosively popular around 1999, & at its peak was airing within prime instance quadruplet nights a week on ABC. the indicate was popular plenty to call for even rival networks creating or reincarnating giveaway of their have, & created a brief renaissance of sorts for United States depending giveaway besides as a flurry of Our contries versions of UK originals like The Weakest Link. ABC's utilizing That Wants to exist as the Millionaire inside therefore numbers of prime slot left it by owning a deficit of unique programming while the indicate's popularity faded by 2001. ABC's overall Nielsen ratings suffered as a result of the indicate's decline around popularity.

One of a reasons that That Wants to exist as the Millionaire misused popularity in the United States was linked to the 9/11 terrorist attacks. When a hiatus that lasted many weeks as a consequence the attacks on the World Trade Center and The Pentagon, ABC began airing more Celebrity Editions of the indicate, virtually all around all probability in the bid to give Us something "light" when a "horror" of Sep 11. A Celebrity Editions featured various celebrities swimming a indicate for charity. A condition was that in that version a audience was allowed to yell retired a answers to both wonder as much as & including a $32,000 level. A suspense of a indicate was eliminated by having everthing celebrity contestants virtually guaranteed to walk off sustaining at least $32,000 to give to their selected charity, & it disappeared from either ABC by December 2001 & the indicate itself around ABC ended in June 2002.

Around February 2004, Regis Philbin returned for five episodes of Who Wants to Be a Super Millionaire?, which offered a $10,000,000 top prize; a series returned for heptad extra episodes within May. A series could link to over againside in either Fall 2005 or Spring 2006. A $10,000,000 prize offered by That Wants to Exist as the Extremely Millionaire? is a big prize offered by any giveaway worldwide, although unlike around the original programme the top prize is non paid in 1 lump total however paid ended Twenty years. Because of the proportional value of the British pound compared to other currencies, a British indicate offers a 2nd big prize money.

Both freshly lifelines were added within Extremely Millionaire: 3 Caring Men & Double Dip. Nevertheless, people can simply become utilized victims when a contestant reached the $100,000 mark. 3 Caring Men consisted of the contestant request the panel of experts the wonder. A panel would so develop Thirty seconds to came higher by owning a guide. A panel was saved inside darkness until a streaming video streaming video player mass produced it as much as $100,000 (In case there is no player got manufactured it as much as that level inside a hour indicate, a 3 Caring Men would become revealed to the audience to look at world health organization it were). the Double Dip lifeline was the risk to believe at a wonder twice. When a streaming video player chose to Double Dip, it may not back away from answering the wonder.

In a syndicated version when of September 2004, questions Ten, Xi, & Dozen keep close at h& decreased to $25,000, $50,000 and $100,000, sequentially for the indicate to add even more, an extra lifeline, Switch the Wonder, when a streaming video player reaches the $25,000 level.

The version of this game known as "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire - Play It!" is an attraction at the Disney-MGM Studios theme park at the Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. A game is very similar to the television version. In both wonder, the audience, applying The computer keyboard tied to the back of the seat ahead, chooses A, B, C, or even D. Whenever a contestant chooses to prevent swimming, a next contestant is picked from either a audience member world health organization answered the virtually all questions right & virtually all quickly. This version is non played for cash. For each wonder answered aright, a contestant receives a pin, & when reaching the "safe havens", the golf cap & T-shirt. A top prize occurs as vacation, which is oftentimes changed.

Episodes of the ABC versiin (Including Very Millionaire) own been run on GSN since September 2003.

Other national variants

Although it originated in the United Kingdom, the format of indicate has after been exported to several countries in the area of the world. When of early 2003 a producers' web site lists a when a result territories as getting licensed a indicate: Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, the Caribbean, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Mexico, the Middle East, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland. Portugal, Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Russia, San Marino, Serbia and Montenegro, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the Philippines, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, United States, Vatican City, Venezuela, and Vietnam.

On this text come a select few details of the differences around a few of victims countries: Argentina 2001: The Argentinian version of Millionaire, known as "¿Quién quiere ser Millonario?" was hosted by Julián Weich. A jackpot offered was 1,000,000 pesos; at a period a total was capable United states$1 million. Millonario was broadcast within Canal 13 between May & December 2001. Weich has hosted more local giveaway.

Australia 1999-: Hosted by Eddie McGuire, Australia's Millionaire airs once every week in Nine Network. These are virtually monovular within format to the British original. McGuire hosted the day-to-day edition of the indicate (at 5:30 pm) around 2004, however the expanded format was cancelled when simply a week. Single Rob "Coach" Fulton has won the show's top prize; he did so on Monday, October 17, 2005. Many large wins by "professional" game indicate contestants world health organization spent hundreds to thousands of dollars ringing the competition line for on the indicate has led to a changing of the system on appearances — merely of these phone call for by the individual by the week is okay, permitted.

Austria 2000-: Austria's version of Millionaire, "Die Millionenshow" ("The millions show"), is aired in ORF, the state-owned channel. A top prize is 1,000,000 EUR. A indicate launched when "Die Zehn Millionen Show" ("The ten millions show"), on a original top prize of 10,000,000 Austrian Schillings. Previous Austrian national skiier Armin Assinger hosts, much to the dismay of people world health organization detest his wide Carinthian accent. A "Ask the Audience" lifeline is limited within utilize for consultantiin on Austrian trifle, when Millionenshow utilizes a equivalent Cologne (Köln) studio as a Germans.

Azerbaijan : Hosted by Şabanov Azar Abdulsalam, "Dovalti olmaq isterdinmi milyonçu?" is aired by the personal tv channel Lider TV. A top prize is 1 million manat, the local currency.

Belgium 1999-: Belgium is the only united states to air 2 versions of the indicate, the effect of their bilingualism. Alain Simons hosts the French-language "Qui sera millionaire?" (World health organization is the Millionaire?) in RTL 1, while Walter Grootaerts hosts the Flemish-language "Wie wordt euromiljonair?" ("Who will be a Euro-Millionaire?"). A Flemish version was originally highborn "Wie wordt multimiljonair?" ("Who will be a multi-millionaire?"), after a Belgian Franc was however a primary currency.

Bulgaria : National commercial TV station Nova TV airs "Кой иÑ?ка да Ñ?тане богат?" ("Koi iska da stane bogat") or even "Who wants to be rich?" is hosted by Niki Kanchev. When no suitable television studios inside Bulgaria, a indicate is filmed through a border inside Romania. Each week, the convoy of buses travel from either Sofithe to Bucharest to record a begin of Octonary shows. Within these "Millionaire Caravans", there are Octonary shows worth of contestants, friends & families. Such as a elementary nickname of Millionaire within United states, Bulgarians typically refer to the indicate when "Стани богат" ("stane bogat") or even "Become rich" A prizes levels inside Bulgaria come within levs (BGN), and placed at: Century, 200, 300, 400, D, 1,000, 1,500, 2,000, 2,500, 3,000, 5,000, 10,000, 25,000, 50,000, 100,000.

Canada 2000: Canada's CTV network rebroadcasted the United States version for virtually all of its process, however within September 2000 it aired two specials entitled "Who Wants to Be A Millionaire: Canadian Edition". Hosted by Pamela Wallin, the shows were taped on the ABC set in New York. a American audience was flown to the city for the shows, and so the contestants may "ask the audience" for assist on the American-themed questions. Charted a airing of the deuce specials, CTV did announce that extra episodes of the American Edition would exist as produced, however it never come to fruition. The syndicated U.s. versiin may be seen inside Canada across Our contries channel provender, on CTV in a period of its primetime dog, & the A-Channel in its current syndicated do.

Chile : Directly translated into Spanish as "Quién quiere ser millonario?", Chile's version was originally hosted by Mario Kreutzberger (also referred to as Din Francisco) on Canal 13. For year 2, Sergio Lagos took over when hikers. Prizes come around Chilean pesos: 50,000, 100,000, 150,000, 200,000, 250,000, 500,000, 750,000, 1,000,000, 2,000,000, 4,000,000, ...,50,000,000, 75,000,000, 100,000,000. Cypher reached a 100 million peso grand prize in a period of the series duration.

Colombia : Directly translated into Spanish as "Quién quiere ser millonario?", a series is claimed to become a virtually all popular "TV contest" in the united states. Broadcast on the personal station Canal Caracol, the indicate is actually hosted per channel's President, Paulo Laserna Phillips. A maximal price inside Colombian pesos is 210,000,000, or all about USD$85,000. Due to the violatility of the united states, several of the big-prize winners on the indicate use changed their identities, to protect themselves against existence kidnapped or even murdered for their money.

Croatia 2002-: Directly translated into Croatian, "Tko želi biti milijunaš?" is hosted by Tarik Filipović, and aired by the state television station HRT 1. A indicate's primary difference from either nearby Slovenia's edition is process-instance. When a Slovenian version diarrhea Ace hour & 45 proceedings, by using commercial message, Croatia's version run one hour. A hour length is due to the fact Croatia public television law states for each of these commercial message break might lone exist as one commercial around duration. Prizes in Milijunaš come within Croatian kunas; the top prize of of these million kunas is equivilent to 133,333 euros.

Cyprus : Aired on the Radio Istitution of Cyprus' RIK2, "Ποιος θέλει να γίνει εκατομμυÏ?ιοÏ?χος;" ("Poios thelei na ginei ekatommyriouchos"), 1 contestant has won a top prize of 150,000 euros. Originally a jackpot was 50,000,000 drachmas (just about 147,000 euros). A series is filmed around Greece.

Czech Republic : Here a indicate is known as "Chcete Být Milionářem?" ("Do you want to be a millionaire?"). Prizes come within Czech korunas (CZK): 1,000 Kč., 2,000 Kč., 3,000 Kč., 5,000 Kč., 10,000 Kč., 20,000 Kč., 40,000 Kč., 80,000 Kč., 160,000 Kč., 320,000 Kč., 640,000 Kč., 1,250,000 Kč., 2,500,000 Kč., 5,000,000 Kč., 10,000,000 Kč.. Airy on the Czech personal television "Nova". Denmark 1999-: a indicate is aired in TV2, & the persons is TV-star Peter Kær. A indicate is known as "Hvem vil være millionær?" ("Who wants to be a millionaire"), & a top prize is 1,000,000 Kroner (approximately 130,000 euros), which has been won twice. Estonia 2002-: The indicate is known as "Kes tahab saada miljonäriks?" ("Who wants to be a millionaire?"). A greatest prize is 1,000,000 kroons, which is about 64,000 euros. A carrier of the indicate is Hannes Võrno. A indicate is aired per commercial TV station TV3. Ecuador : The indicate is known as "Quién quier ser millonario?" ("Who wants to be a millionaire?"). It's hosted by Alfonso Espinosa de los Montelos, & aired per commercial TV station Ecuavisa. A greatest prize is America$25,000. Finland 1999-: The indicate is known as "Haluatko miljonääriksi?" (inside English "Do you want to become a millionaire?"). A indicate began inside 1999 in Nelonen, with Lasse Lehtinen when a persons. A large win was 1,000,000 Finnish marks. In a month 2001, Finl& began to utilise a Euro when a official currency and the fresh top prize became 200,000 euros, a bit bit to a higher degree of these million Marks. Within fall 2005, the indicate was bought by a further dominant media company, Alma Media, which meant that a indicate would exist as aired in Alma Media's primary channel, MTV3. A large win was raised to 1,000,000 euros. the freshly persons is Ville Klinga, a previous sports newsman. France 2002-: Here a indicate is known as "Qui veut gagner des millions?" ("Who wants to win millions?"). These are hosted by Jean-Pierre Foucault, & aired per commercial TV station TF1. A programme wwhen began whilst France was however applying French Franc as currency, then a greatest prize was 5,000,000 FF. Now these are 1,000,000 euros which is just about 6,500,000 FF. Georgia : In Georgia, a indicate is known as "ვის უნდáƒ? 20000?" ("Vis Unda Octi Atasi?" or even "Who wants 20000"). These are aired in Rustavi Two. A prizes come in the Georgian money unit, in the common denominations. when a united states, Georgia suffers frequent power cuts - periodically when oftentimes as each 5 transactions, and then it could take a day to record a completely episode. A second black eye occurs as studio, which is very basic - a lift carries simply 5 population at one time, & then experiencing the hikers, contestants, crew and audience is a grueling project. It's worth a effort, because these are probably a virtually all successful indicate ever transmitted in Georgian television. Germany 1999-: The indicate, known as "Wer wird Millionär?" ("Who will become a millionaire?"), is aired per commercial TV station RTL and presented by Günther Jauch; the 500th indicate was aired in September 10 2005. These are produced around Cologne. Fallowing introduction of the euro, the choice sequence was changed to run at €L when a 250,000 step was dropped, so there is a quadrupling from either a Thirteenth (€125,000) to Fourteenth, 2nd-previous step (€500,000). ' There keep around merely been Quatern millionaires in the German version therefore far, including Eckard Freise & Marlene Grabherr. Link to the German version: [http://www.rtl.de/quiz/quiz_werwirdmillionaer.php here] 'View likewise: Claudia Drexelius. Greece 1999-????: In Greece, a indicate is known as "Ποιος θέλει να γίνει εκατομμυÏ?ιοÏ?χος;" (Poios thelei na ginei ekatommyriouchos") ("World health organization wants to exist as the millionaire?"). The prize was originally 50,000,000 drachmas (about 147,000 euros), and currently is 150,000 euros. The first three years it was aired by the commercial TV station Mega Channel and now, the last two years, its aired by New Hellenic Television, NET, (Nea Elliniki Tileorasi), one of Greek Public Television (ERT) Channels. There has been one winner having taken 150,000 euros. Hong Kong 2001: The programme was called "百è?¬å¯Œç¿?" in Hong Kong, which means "A Millionaire". It is hosted by Kenneth Chan. A version was shown on April 29, 2001, and was popular enough to be shown again on July 22, 2001. The highest prize is a million HK dollars. The first millionaire was the team with famous composer Wong Jim and actress Fung Po Po. The Hong Kong-produced version is the version shown in China, and therefore had to be sent for Chinese government censorship. Three days before the first episode aired, the government decided to slash the grand prize by half. Hungary 2000-: Here, the show is called "Legyen Ön is milliomos!"'' and presented by István Vágó. It's aired on RTL Klub, a Hungarian commercial TV station. The prizes are in Hungarian Forints, the top prize is 40,000,000 Ft. (Earlier, it was 25,000,000 Ft.) Iceland 2000-: In Iceland, the show is called "Viltu vinna milljón?". The prizes are in Icelandic Crowns, the top prize is 10,000,000 ISK.It's aired by MBL television. In Iceland, since the population is only 250,000, the producers have had to reduce the number of contestants playing Fastest Finger First from ten to six; as there is a real fear that they may run out of people to play. India 2000-2002 and 2005-: In India, the show is called "कौन बनेगा करोड़पति" ("Kaun Banega Crorepati"), which literally means "World health organization might get the multi-millionaire?" (1 Crore = 10 million in Indian numerals; 1 Crore rupees = about $227,000 USD as of October 2005). It is produced by Star TV and is hosted by Indian movie superstar Amitabh Bachchan. It is considered to be one of the most successful shows on Indian TV and is watched around the world by Indian diaspora as well as by people from Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Bhutan, Mauritius, Fiji, East Africa, etc. After the first episode had been broadcast, Star TV received 20 million phone calls from fans across the world. Star TV brought back the quiz as a thrice-weekly program in 2005 with a doubled top prize. Indonesia : The show is called "World health organization wants to become the millionaire?", and it is aired once a week on RCTI. The show is hosted by Tantowi Yahya. The highest possible prize is one billion Rupiah. Note: the word "million" is juta in Indonesian, while the word "billion" is milyar. There has been one winner having taken 500 million rupiah. Ireland, Republic of : Originally, the top prize was one million Irish Pounds (1.27 million euros). However, with the change of currency at the start of 2002, it was reduced to 1 million euros. It was presented by Gay Byrne on Radio Telefís Éireann, and ran until mid-2002, when the sponsoring mobile phone company withdrew. Without a sponsor, the show was deemed unviable - and the expensive set put into storage. The highest winner was Roger Dowds, who in 2001 won £250,000. (before Ireland adopted the euro as its currency). Israel : In Israel, the show is called "?מי רוצה להיות מיליונר" ("Mi rotseh lehyot mylyoner?"), but it's often referred to as "World health organization Wants To Exist as The Millionaire?" or just "Millionaire". It is aired on Channel 2 Israel. The prizes are in New Shekels, in the usual denominations. There has been five winners having taken 1,000,000 Shekels. When the show got it's first 1,000,000 Shekel winner, the host danced around the middle of the studio stripping, as a mark of respect. Italy : In Italy, the show is called "Chi vuol essere milionario?" (an exact translation of the English one). It is hosted by Gerry Scotti. Rules are virtually identical to the original format. The show is aired on Canale 5, a commercial TV station of Mediaset network. Japan 2000-: Produced by Fuji TV, the Japanese title is "クイズ $ ミリオãƒ?ã‚¢" (Kuizu $ Mirionea) ("Quiz $ Millionaire"). It is commonly known simply as Millionaire. It is hosted by Minomonta (Norio Minorikawa). The rules are the same as the original. Prize levels are denominated in Yen as follows: ¥10,000, ¥20,000, ¥30,000, ¥50,000, ¥100,000, ¥150,000, ¥250,000, ¥500,000, ¥750,000, ¥1,000,000, ¥1,500,000, ¥2,500,000, ¥5,000,000, ¥7,500,000, ¥10,000,000. Presenter Minomonta uses the English phrases from the original show, such as final answer, in the quiz. A feature of the Japanese version is frequent "celebrity" versions in which famous Japanese celebrities take part rather than ordinary people. The host, Minomonta, is also replaced by a comedian, who impersonates Minomonta. Kazakhstan 2002-: the show is called "Кто возмет миллион?" ("World health organization may choose a million?"). In this country there are two versions of the game in different languages. The top prize is 5 millions Tenge, and there are two winners of the game. It is said that most of questions have been taken from russians game version. Latvia 2002-: show is filmed in the same studio as the Lithuanian one (in Lithuania), and winnings in it, as in Latvian lotteries in general, are very low. The largest prize is only 20,000 Latvian Lats (one Lat is worth about the same as a British pound is). It is still called "Gribi būt miljonārs?" ("Do you need to exist as the millionaire?") because 20,000 Lats is 2 millions of Santims, a Latvian equivalent of cent. The Prizes are: 10 Ls, 20 Ls, 30 Ls, 40 Ls, 50 Ls, 60 Ls, 80 Ls, 125 Ls, 250 Ls, 500 Ls, 1,250 Ls, 2,500 Ls, 5,000 Ls, 10,000 Ls, 20,000 Ls. The show is hosted by Mārtiņš Ķibilds, a Latvian journalist and is aired by the commercial TV station TV3. Lithuania 2002-2005: the show is called "Kas laimės milijoną?" ("World health organization might win a million?"), hosted by famous Lithuanian singer and host of other shows (such as "Robinsons" and "Survivor") Vytautas Kernagis, formerly hosted by journalist Henrikas Vaitiekūnas. Winnings are the same as in original game, however, Litas is worth 0.29 euros, 0.2 British Pounds and 0.4 US Dollars thus the actual winnings are lower. Show is filmed in Lithuania and aired by the commercial TV station TV3. Malaysia : Hosted by Jalalludin Hassan on the television network NTV7. Jalalludin Hassan is famous for playing the roles of millionaires in TV dramas in Malaysia - this was the reason he was chosen to host the show. The top prize is one million Malaysian ringgit which is about US$260,000. Middle East : The show is called "من سيربح المليون" ("Human sturmarbeiteilung yarbah al-malyoon") ( "World health organization might win a million?" ), though it is frequently referred to in English traditional name, "Millionaire". The show is hosted by George Kurdahi. It was originally filmed and produced in London, in between the UK filming - a local Arab audience was flown in each time. The highest prize is 1.000.000 Saudi Arabian riyals. It's aired on MBC channel, the first channel in middle east, and transmited in Egypt by the channel 1,in Lebanon by Future Television and the pay per view channel ART. Netherlands : Here the game is called "Weekend Miljonairs" ("Weekend millionaires"), but also "Lotto Weekend Miljonairs" ("Bingo of the weekend millionaires"; this is an unofficial name, better a nickname), and is hosted by Robert ten Brink. The show is aired by the private television, SBS 6. New Zealand 1999-: the show is the same as that broadcast in Australia, but New Zealand residents are allowed to enter, as Prime TV is owned by Australia's Nine Network. Nigeria 2004-: Here the show is called "World health organization wants to become the millionaire?". It's hosted by Frank Edoho. The top prize 5,000,000 Naira. It airs once weekly. Norway 2000-: The show is aired on TV2, and the host is Frithjof Wilborn. Arve Juritzen is the previous host. The show is called "Vil du bli millionær" ("Do you need to become the millionaire?"), and the top prize is 2,000,000 Kroner. Philippines 2002: Hosted by Christopher De Leon on the Intercontinental Broadcating Corporation, the top prize was at first one million pesos before it was raised to two million. The show lost its popularity soon after its original studio was razed by a fire and is now off-the-air. Poland : here the show is called "Milionerzy" ("Millionaires") and is aired on the TVN TV station. The host of the show is Hubert Urbański. The top prize is 1.000.000 zlotys. Portugal : Here, the show is called "Quem quer ser milionário?" ("World health organization wants to exist as the millionaire?"), and is aired in RTP1 network. It is currently hosted by Jorge Gabriel. Carlos Cruz, Maria Elisa and Diogo Infante were all previous hosts. The prizes were, in the early seasons, in escudos, with the ultimate prize being 50 million escudos. Now it is in euros, the biggest prize being 250 thousand euros. There have been four top prize winners so far. Romania : the show is called "Vrei să fii miliardar?" ("Do you need to exist as the billionaire?"), produced by Prima TV and hosted by Virgil Ianţu. The highest prize is 100,000 new Lei (about US$35,000.) Russia 1999-: In Russia, the show is called "Кто хочет стать миллионером?" ("World health organization wants to get the Millionaire?"), it's hosted by Maksim Galkin and aired on private Channel ORT. Earlier it was called "Осчастливчик!" ("Oh, lucky human!"), hosted by Dmitry Dibrov and aired on the NTV channel. The biggest prize here is 1,000,000 Russian roubles (about $36,000 as of May 2005). Serbia and Montenegro : Here the show is called "Želect li district attorney postanete milioner?" ("Do you need to get the millionaire?"). It's aired by a private satellite TV station BKTV SAT. The highest prize here is 3.000.000 din. Prizes are in dinars (din): 300 din, 600 din, 900 din, 1,500 din, 3,000 din, 6,000 din, 12,000 din, 24,000 din, 48,000 din, 96,000 din, 192,000 din, 375,000 din, 750,000 din, 1,500,000 din, 3,000,000 din (about US$50,000.) The show here is hosted by Ivan Zeljković. Singapore : Two different versions are produced in Singapore, an English language version and a Chinese language version. The Chinese version is called "百万大赢家" ("Million-dollar winner"/"Bai wan district attorney ying jia"), and hosted by Chi-Tai Chao.It's produced and aired by local media network MediaCorp. Slovakia : Here the show is called "Milionár" ("Millionaire"). Prizes are in Slovak korunas (SKK): 1,000 Sk., 2,000 Sk., 3,000 Sk., 5,000 Sk., 10,000 Sk., 20,000 Sk., 40,000 Sk., 80,000 Sk., 160,000 Sk., 320,000 Sk., 640,000 Sk., 1,250,000 Sk., 2,500,000 Sk., 5,000,000 Sk., 10,000,000 Sk.. Aired on a private TV station, TV Markíza. Slovenia : Here the show is called "Lepo je biti milijonar" ("These are dependable to exist as the Millionaire"). Now the highest prize has changed from the old 10,000,000 SIT to the new 15,000,000 SIT (as have all the prizes after the 1,000,000 SIT). It is broadcast by the commercial TV station POP TV and hosted by Boštjan Romih. However, the show was formerly hosted by Jonas %D;nidaršič, and also called Kviz z Jonasom (A Quiz with Jonas, as Jonas was usually referred to by his first name only). Prizes are in tolars (SIT): 10,000 SIT, 20,000 SIT, 30,000 SIT, 40,000 SIT, 50,000 SIT, 100,000 SIT, 175,000 SIT, 250,000 SIT, 500,000 SIT, 1,000,000 SIT, 1,500,000 SIT, 2,500,000 SIT, 5,000,000 SIT, 7,500,000 SIT, 15,000,000 SIT. South Africa : The show was broadcast on the M-Net channel, hosted by Jeremy Maggs. Interestingly, the 'M' of the word 'Millionaire' in the logo was the 'M' logo of M-Net. This version was also the first version outside of the US to have a jackpot winner. (At the time, only South Africa, the US and the UK broadcast the show) Spain 1999-2001 and 2005-: Here the show is called "¿Quién quiere ser millonario?" ("World health organization wants to exist as the millionaire?") and also "Fifty por Xv" (pronounced "Cincuenta por quince") because you could win 50 million pesetas (about £200,000) if you got 15 questions right. It was hosted by Carlos Sobera and broadcast by Telecinco. These were the prizes in pesetas (ESP): 25,000 ESP, 50,000 ESP, 75,000 ESP, 150,000 ESP, 300,000 ESP, 350,000 ESP, 450,000 ESP, 600,000 ESP, 750,000 ESP, 1,500,000 ESP, 3,000,000 ESP, 6,000,000 ESP, 12,000,000 ESP, 24,000,000 ESP, 50,000,000 ESP. In 2005 the programme is broadcast by Antena 3 and now the best prize in euros is 1,000,000. Sweden 1999-2003 and 2005-: Here the show is called "Vem vill bli miljonär?" ("World health organization wants to become the millionaire?") It was hosted by Bengt Magnusson and broadcast by TV4. The highest prize was 10,000,000 SEK. TV4 stopped broadcasting the show because they couldn't afford the prizes. The return of the show in 2005, in a twice-weekly format, combined the show with the Swedish Postcode Lottery. Switzerland 2001: The show was called "Wer wird Millionär" ("World health organization might turn into the millionaire?") and was broadcast by the private Swiss 'TV3' station. The host was René Rindlisbacher. When Swiss TV3 stopped broadcasting in 2001, the show disappeared from the local screens. Swiss candidates have been spotted on the German show since then. Taiwan : Here the show is called "Wai Beng Fu Yung?", and it's aired and watched in both Taiwan and China. Turkey : Here the show is called "Kim D (besyuz) milyar ister?" ("World health organization wants Five hundred billions?"). It was first broadcast by the commercial TV station Show TV, but later switched to Kanal D. The show is hosted by Kenan IÅŸik. The prizes in New Turkish Liras are: 50 YTL, 100 YTL, 150 YTL, 250 YTL, 500 YTL, 1,000 YTL, 2,000 YTL, 4,000 YTL, 8,000 YTL, 16,000 YTL, 32,000 YTL, 64,000 YTL, 125,000 YTL, 250,000 YTL, 500,000 YTL. Ukraine : In Ukraine, the show is called "Хто хоче Ñ?тати мiльонером? - Перший мільйон" ("Chato hochie stati milionerom") ("World health organization wants to become the Millionaire? - A number one million"), hosted by Danilo Janevskyj and aired on the commercial TV station 1+1. Here, as in Russia, the 'Ask the Audience' lifeline isn't one that the contestant would often use because the audience often gives wrong answers intentionally to trick the contestants. Here, the top prize is 1,000,000 (the contestant chooses a money unit). Venezuela : In Venezuela the game is called "¿Quién quiere ser millonario?" ("World health organization wants to become the millionaire?" in Spanish), and its producers also claim it to be the most popular programme in Venezuela. It is broadcast by RCTV (One of the two main private Venezuelan TV stations) and hosted by its president, Eladio Lares. The maximum price in venezuelan bolivares is 200,000,000 Bs (About $93,023 US Dollars). The desk version of the game is merchandised by Mattel and there are two means to play the game, such as using your phone or mobile phone to answer a three questions and become eligible to compete in the TV contest. Furthermore, is possible using mobile phone to answer a question when a contestant decide to retire (one question for each emission). Vietnam : In Vietnam, the show is called "Ai là triệu phú?"("World health organization is the millionaire?"). It's aired by the state television VTV 3. The prizes are in Dong, the local currency.

Rule changes
In the 2004-2005 season of the programme, the format of the game was changed in some versions, such as the United States syndicated edition.

The 32,000 lock-in has been decreased to 25,000, as well as a new prize pattern of 50,000; 100,000 and then 250,000. This has been done to encourage contestants not to stop prematurely, hopefully increasing the amount that contestants receive.

Also, after reaching the 25,000 level, contestants are given a new lifeline, "Switch a Wonder" (also known as a Flip), something that first appeared in the UK programme in a number of celebrity editions, and again in its 300th episode (which was broadcast live to mark that landmark). The idea seemed to have been taken from The People Versus, also produced by Celador (again, in the UK). It allows them to dismiss the current question and to play a new one. However, they will not have any lifelines used on the discarded question returned to them. This practice was discontinued in the UK version after said 300th episode.

Finally, the "Ask a Audience" lifeline has been expanded. Instead of just the studio audience giving answers, users of the AOL Instant Messenger (sometimes referred to as IM) can participate too. If they have asked the screenname "MillionaireIM" allow his or her participation, then they will receive an instant message if a contestant uses his or her "Ask a Audience" lifeline. The message will contain the question, and four possible answers, and they will send their answer back. This is the first time in history that the public has been able to interact with a game show while it is being taped. When the tape is shown, the results of the poll will first show the studio audience's response, then the IM users' response. This has been done as an effort to get everyone more involved with the programme, and to interest the producers in the show once again.

In the UK version, since 2004, a new feature was introduced called "Hike Away". When a contestant chose to take the money, the question was thrown open to the viewers at home. They had 30 seconds to text in what they thought the correct answer was. At the end of the 30 seconds, the right answer was revealed and those who had answered correctly were texted a question back. The fastest answer texted back won £1,000. If there was a tie for the fastest time, further questions were asked until a winner was found. These questions are by no means easy, e.g. "How else numbers of pic did Laurel and Hardy make together?" — answer required within 1 minute.

Million winners
Here is the list of the winners of the jackpot prize for each version of the show:

United States (Primetime and Syndicated versions): John Carpenter (First winner of the top prize.) Dan Blonsky Joe Trela Bob House Kim Hunt David Goodman Kevin Olmstead ($2.18 Million) Bernie Cullen Ed Toutant ($1.86 Million) Kevin Smith (First winner of the syndicated version.) Nancy Christy (First woman to win the million dollars in the U.S. version.)

In addition, Robert Essig won $1,000,000 on Super Millionaire, but did not win the top prize of $10,000,000.

United Kingdom (Including Charles Ingram, and in chronological order, together with original broadcast date) Judith Keppel, 20 November 2000 David Edwards, 21 April 2001 Charles Ingram (not broadcast as a regular episode, would have been 18 September 2001) Robert Brydges, 29 September 2001 Pat Gibson, 24 April 2004

Australia Rob "Coach" Fulton, 17 October 2005

Japan ミリオ�, 2000