Four of the captives were seen sitting alone and cross-legged on a carpet, with a black sheet hanging behind them. The video only showed the upper body of the fifth man, who identified himself as Paul Johnson Reuben of Buffalo, Minn., which is near Minneapolis. Reuben said the date is Dec. 22, 2006, and that he wanted his family to know he was being treated well.

Another man with a beard and a mustache identified himself as Bert Nussbaumer, an Austrian citizen working for Crescent Security.

Another captive identified himself as Josh Munz, 23, of Redding, Calif.

"I joined the Marine Corps in 2001, and I got out in 2005," Munz says. "After I got out of the Marine Corps, I went to work in the construction business, building swimming pools. After that, in July of 2006, I started working for Crescent Security out of Kuwait, and I don't know how long I've been here doing this, but today is December 21, 2006."

Another video of the captives surfaced last week and was reported by McClatchy Newspapers. That video was believed to have been recorded two weeks after the men were kidnapped.

Reuben's mother, Johnnie, was happy to hear her son apparently recorded another video on Dec. 22. "That's recent, that's more recent. That makes me more hopeful," she said Wednesday.

She said her faith in God has helped to get her through the difficult last few weeks since her son was reported missing.

"I pray a lot, I read the Bible and talk to God," Reuben said. "I believe Paul is alive. He may be looking peaked and he may be under the weather, but then I remember his internal fortitude, and his own belief in God."

Reuben's sister-in-law, Jennifer Reuben of New Richmond, Wis., said: "I was just glad to see him. That's all I can say."

In Vienna, Austria's Foreign Ministry said it was trying to get a copy of the video to confirm its authenticity, spokeswoman Astrid Harz said.

Harz said the parents of Nussbaumer, 25, had been informed about the existence of the video and its contents.

Last week, an audiotape containing a statement from Nussbaumer appeared to be authentic, the Foreign Ministry said after an expert analysis.

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