Download Firefox, help cute cubs

I love red pandas.

Photo credit: Robin Ducker, Flickr

These house-cat-sized cuties spend most of their lives in trees of the temperate forests of the Himalayas.

Despite their name and a penchant for bamboo, red pandas are thought to be more closely related to weasels or dogs than they are to Giant pandas. The exact placement of the red panda branch within the mammalian tree of life, however, is still a matter of study.

Apparently red pandas are also called firefoxes, and everyone’s favorite web browser project is using two adorable red panda cubs to promote the latest version of Firefox.

Every time someone downloads Firefox 4, the cubs get closer to earning a special treat. Right now, that treat in question is a jungle gym and as of December 4th, the cubs are 23% of the way there.

There’s also a cub webcam, streaming live action shots of red panda antics 24 hours a day.

Want to generate some warm fuzzy feelings about your new product? Associate yourself with a couple adorable zoo babies, and tell potential users their downloads are equivalent to giving the cubs a treat. Genius.