REDMOND, Wash., April 9, 2002 — Microsoft Corp. today announced its sponsorship of the Annapurna 2002 Summit Sweepstakes in conjunction with the expedition to ascend Annapurna in the Himalayas led by Ed Viesturs, America’s leading high-altitude mountaineer. This climb is part of Endeavor 8000, Viesturs’ personal goal of climbing the 14 highest mountains in the world — each above 8,000 meters — without supplemental oxygen. Viesturs and his multinational team used Microsoft®
Office XP and SharePoint (TM) technologies to help organize and plan the climb.
From April 8, 2002, to May 30, 2002, eligible contestants 14 years of age or older can enter* by visiting http://www.microsoft.com/office/viesturs/contest.asp. Random drawings will be held biweekly with four first-place prizes awarded every other week and one grand prize awarded at the end of the contest. First-place winners will receive the Base Camp, Camp 1, Camp 2 or Camp 3 prizes, each consisting of Microsoft Office XP Special Edition software, a Microsoft Office keyboard, an Ed Viesturs autographed poster and more (estimated value is $1,000). The grand prize winner will receive the Summit Prize, consisting of Microsoft Office XP Special Edition software, a Mountain Hardware Tent, a gift certificate to CompUSA, an Ed Viesturs autographed book and more (estimated retail value is $2,500). A complete list of prizes is available at the contest Web site. The names of the winners will be posted online after June 15, 2002.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide leader in software, services and Internet technologies for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software — any time, any place and on any device.
* No purchase necessary; void where prohibited. Open to legal residents of the United States and Canada (except Quebec) 14 years of age or older. Contest ends May 30, 2002. For full rules see Web site.
Microsoft and SharePoint are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries.
The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
To follow the progress of Ed Viesturs’ Annapurna climb, visitors can go to http://www.annapurna2002.com/. More information on Office XP can be found at http://www.microsoft.com/office/.
Note to editors: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/ on Microsoft’s corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. Journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft’s Rapid Response Team for additional assistance.
