Getting in the Head of 26,000 YupiMSN Users

MIAMI BEACH, Fla., June 10, 2002 — Up to 20 percent of U.S. Hispanic Internet users would rather give up watching television than searching the Internet, according to new research published today by YupiMSN, a leading Spanish-language network of sites and a TELMEX and Microsoft company. The research is based on an online poll completed by more than 26,000 YupiMSN consumers. The survey was designed to investigate how and why searching the Net has become such an integral part of Spanish-speakers everyday lives.

“We have always known that our consumers are die-hard Web surfers. These individuals have made the Net an indispensable part of their lives– and YupiMSN, their home on the Web,” said Oscar Con, president of YupiMSN.

Overall, consumers taking the poll rated YupiMSN as their favorite search engine, followed by Google and AltaVista.

Dreams and Devastation

Of those polled, the majority (71 percent) of U.S. Hispanic consumers said they are logging on to the Web once a day or more from home. It is clear that searching is very much an everyday activity — so much so that 20 percent of those surveyed said they have searched the Net in their dreams. Approximately 20 percent of those surveyed would feel “devastated” if they were no longer able to search the Web and would much prefer giving up television.

Web Means Love and Friendship

The Web also has a significant impact on family relationships and friendships, with 35 percent of respondents claiming that the Internet has enhanced these rapports.
“This is not surprising, as YupiMSN empowers consumers with useful communications tools such as the MSN® Hotmail® service, the worlds most popular Web-based e-mail service,* and MSN Messenger Service,”
added Con.

Finding love, fun and friendship are top objectives on the Net according to the research; 42 percent of respondents have found friendship on the Web. Puerto Ricans and Dominicans top the list, with an average of eight buddies found online.

Self-Help

The aspect of consumers lives most improved by the use of the Internet is “being informed about current events.” In most markets, entertainment, news and technology are the most searched-for topics. More than 50 percent of the survey takers had searched the Net to find new hobbies and interests.

Carlos Cardona, CTO and founder of YupiMSN, said, “Searching the Net is now such an integral part of our lives its not surprising wed be lost without it or that we tend to get frustrated when we cant find what were looking for. Thats why we make sure that human editors, not spiders or Web crawlers, manage YupiMSN Search. Our search team works to ensure that the combination of our editorial teams local knowledge and the power of Microsoft®
technology produce the best possible results in Spanish.”

About YupiMSN

Founded in 1996 and acquired by the TELMEX and Microsoft joint venture, T1msn, in 2001, YupiMSN is a leading network of Spanish-language sites that responds to the great need for easy-to-use and relevant offerings on the Web in Spanish. YupiMSN enables its large and loyal audience of Spanish-speaking consumers in the United States and Latin America to take full advantage of all the benefits the Web has to offer. The YupiMSN network provides marketers with unique and innovative opportunities to effectively reach their target audiences. Within its flagship portal site, YupiMSN features best-of-breed content and services such as MSN Hotmail, MSN Messenger Service and MSN Search as well as popular communities such as CiudadFutura.com, http://www.ciudadfutura.com/ , considered to be the first Spanish-language online community and MujerFutura.com, http://www.mujerfutura.com/ , a specialized site catering to the interests and needs of Spanish-speaking women. More information can be found at http://www.yupimsn.com/ .

About TELMEX

TELMEX is the leading communications company in Mexico with more than 13 million telephone lines in service, 1.43 million line equivalents for date transmission and more than 845,000 Internet accounts. TELMEX offers telecommunications services through a 68,000-kilometer fiber-optic digital network. TELMEX and its subsidiaries offer a wide range of advanced telecommunications, data and video services, and Internet access as well as integrated telecom solutions for corporate customers. Additional information can be found at http://www.telmex.com/ .

About Microsoft

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.

* Jupiter Media Metrix Custom Data, April 2002. Includes data from the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Spain, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland.

Microsoft, MSN and Hotmail 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.

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.

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