There was no Simon Cowell or Ryan Seacrest around to make the announcement, but the voting has been tabulated, and the World has spoken.  Xen.org now has its official mascot thanks to the Xen.org community voting. 

We told you last month that the Xen.org community was looking for a new mascot.  And the final three choices were Panda Bear, Bonsai Tree, and Zen Penguin.  Brian J. Hall made an artist rendition of the ideas and did a fantastic job giving them life.  The voting ended on April 28th, and this week, Stephen Spector announced the winner.

226 votes were cast, and by a close margin, Valentin Höbel's Panda Bear won.

Panda Bear  – 92 Votes (40%)
Bonsai Tree – 85 Votes (37%)
Zen Penguin – 49 Votes (21%)

The current image of the Panda Bear looks like:

Panda Bear

If you have any comments or suggestions on the above drawing, please submit them to the community.  As of now, they look to be working with the Panda on the right with the hat.  Also, they are looking for a name.  Spector said he was thinking "Xen Panda" but is open to ideas.

They expect to have the mascot completed by the end of May and will have merchandise available in June from the Xen.org Store for purchase. 

Chime in quickly if you have an opinion!