Microsoft Announces a One-Year Distribution Deal With Search Providers Worth in Excess of $60 Million

REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 21, 1998 —
Microsoft Corp. today announced it has signed agreements with Compaq’s AltaVista Search Service, Infoseek Corp., Lycos Inc. and Snap Internet Portal Service for premium placement of their search services on the MSN
™
network of Internet products and services. The agreements will give these companies more opportunities to expose their brands to consumers and will give customers of MSN choice of the Internet’s best search engines. The selection of search services is scheduled to be available on MSN this fall, along with Microsoft’s own upcoming search offering, MSN Web Search.

“This is a win for customers of MSN and these search companies that recognize MSN as a great home for their services,”
said Laura Jennings, vice president of MSN.
“These agreements ensure great choices of services for our members and represent the value MSN presents to companies looking to promote their brand with the broadest array of consumers.”

The agreements call for each of the four premium search companies to provide their services on MSN by purchasing highlighted placement on the site in exchange for a guaranteed number of impressions over one year, effectively advertising to customers of MSN.

“As the portal market becomes more competitive, placement of AltaVista’s search service on one of the most highly trafficked sites is vital for reaching our audience,”
said Bob Hult, vice president and general manager of Compaq’s AltaVista search service.
“As a premier search provider on MSN, we are extending our reach into the homes of the most attractive consumer demographics in the industry.”

“MSN is already home to some of the Internet’s most popular services,”
said Harry Motro, president and CEO of Infoseek.
“It’s a natural distribution point for our search service, one of the most widely used on the World Wide Web.”

“Lycos is among the most popular and widely used sites on the Internet,”
said Bob Davis, president and CEO of Lycos.
“Premium placement on MSN will ensure that our Web navigation resources will be available to an even larger and more diverse audience.”

“The future success of portal search services will depend on branding and distribution to gain exposure among consumers,”
said Edmond Sanctis, COO of Snap.
“NBC’s national promotion of the Snap service and the strong distribution capabilities of partners such as MSN are important components of our overall strategy.”

Each premium search service including Microsoft’s own search service, MSN Web Search, will share a percentage of customer searches on MSN.

Microsoft also announced that it will provide distribution for GoTo.com on Microsoft’s Internet services, including MSN Hotmail.

“Microsoft Internet products provide a premier opportunity to build brand visibility and distribution for the GoTo.com search offering,”
said Jeffrey Brewer, president and CEO of GoTo.com.
“We are solely focused on our mission to give users the fastest, easiest way to find the most relevant Web sites on any topic. Our partnership with Microsoft will enable us to offer the GoTo.com search experience to a much wider audience.”

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq
“MSFT”
) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of products and services for business and

personal use, each designed with the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.

Microsoft and MSN are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.

Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

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