REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 29, 1998 — Microsoft Corp. today announced the preview of MSN
™
Web Communities. With the addition of MSN Web Communities, visitors to MSN.com will gain access to topical information and links to newsgroups, user-created chats and monitored chats in approximately 120 areas of interest, making the MSN Network of Internet Services home to one of the largest Web-based chat networks monitored by full-time community managers.
“Providing high-quality managed communities is essential to a great customer experience and the continued success of our network,” said Laura Jennings, vice president of MSN. “MSN Web Communities will help our customers more easily exchange important information, stay better informed and ultimately get more done.”
The MSN Web Communities available today include nearly 70 forums that were formerly available only to MSN Internet Access subscribers plus 50 existing communities from various MSN services, including the Microsoft® Expedia
™
.com travel service, Microsoft Investor and the Computing Central
™
computer users information service, among others. The communities have a completely new look and are aggregated in one convenient place on MSN.com, making MSN one of the largest Web-based nonproprietary chat networks on the Internet. Each MSN Web Community is managed by an online community manager, or team of managers, with years of experience on the community’s topic.
“Opening the already thriving Television Community on MSN Internet Access to everybody on the Internet for free* at MSN.com is a huge win for our members and the Internet as a whole,” said Taylor Johnson, MSN Television Community manager. “This will greatly expand members’ opportunities to connect with others with similar interests and find the community they are looking for online.”
“Making MSN-based communities available for free on the Web means that I can participate in my favorite chats no matter where I am,” said MSN member Erin McDermott. “Whether I’m at home, in the office or traveling, I’ll be able to easily keep in touch with the people I’ve met from around the world – just by going to MSN.com.”
Available in preview today at http://beta.communities.MSN.com/ , MSN Web Communities is scheduled to launch on MSN.com later this fall. Features and functionality will continue to be enhanced over the next several months. Next year, MSN plans to enable customers to create and manage their own communities at WWW.MSN.com. The complete list of MSN Web Communities follows:
MSN is the network of Internet services from Microsoft that helps people better organize the Web around what’s important to them. The network of MSN services, located on the Web at MSN.com (http://MSN.com/), helps people easily stay in touch with friends and colleagues, make smart and secure purchasing decisions, and get more done. MSN offers award-winning
e-mail functionality; personal communications services; customizable access to news; popular sites for travel, investing, automotive services, shopping and more; an online community; a Web search engine and directories; and top-rated Internet access.
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.
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* Connect-time charges may apply
** Provided by the Expedia.com travel service
*** Provided by Microsoft Investor
Microsoft, MSN, Expedia, Computing Central, Windows and Windows NT 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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