• USA Today, Wednesday, May 7, 2008 10:15 AM

Trying to build on the success of diet drinks Coke Zero and Sprite Zero, Coca-Cola's PowerAde Zero is hitting store shelves in time for the summer sports season, and tennis star Venus Williams will endorse it in print ads beginning next week. Other ads will tout its zero calories vs. Gatorade products by showing calories per 8 ounces: 50 for Gatorade, 25 for Gatorade's G2 and 10 for flavored Propel Fitness Water.

Zero comes in strawberry, mixed berry and grape, artificially sweetened with sucralose and acesulfame potassium. "This is the first major brand to give hydration and electrolytes with zero calories," Matt Kahn, PowerAde's vice president of marketing.

Williams drinks pink lemonade PowerAde on the court, but says she's wanted a lower-calorie alternative for less intense workouts. "I can't keep it in my refrigerator--everyone takes them," she says.

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