Microsoft and St. Andrews Team Up for “World’s Biggest Day of Golf”

REDMOND, Wash., June 20, 2000 — Virtual golfers and their real-world counterparts will team up to make golf history later this week when the E-World Shotgun 2000 joins the World Shotgun 2000. Microsoft Corp. and St. Andrews Links will combine the virtual and real golfing communities to form the world’s largest ever golfing twosome.

Playable on MSN® Zone.com with Microsoft’s award-winning
“Links™ LS 2000,”
the event will mirror the real-world World Shotgun 2000, which will take place at the same time on Saturday, June 24. Organized by St. Andrews Links Trust, which runs all six golf courses at St. Andrews including the Old Course, the event is being billed as the World’s Biggest Day of Golf. The event will celebrate the history and tradition of six centuries of golf with real-world golfers from around the world teeing off simultaneously with their Internet counterparts.

“We are very excited to host this online golf event that complements this major real-world golf event,”
said Dean Hachamovitch, product unit manager for Zone.com.
“Golfers can now play not only on their local golf courses but can also join in through their computer. With virtual golfers from around the world involved, this big event just got bigger.”

“It is wonderful that Microsoft has organized this virtual event to match the real one,”
said Peter Mason, external relations manager for St. Andrews Links Trust.

In the physical World Shotgun 2000, a cannon blast will be fired from St. Andrews signifying the four start times. The blasts will occur at 11 p.m. GMT on June 23, and then at 5 a.m., 11 a.m. and 5 p.m. GMT on June 24 to cover the time zones of the world. Courses in different time zones will give a coordinating signal to the golfers on the course to play their shot. Zone.com will coordinate with the timing of the physical event by signaling the electronic participants.

Registration information for the eWorld Shotgun 2000 can be found at http://www.zone.com/vga/ . Golfers who want to take part on the golf course should register their clubs with the St. Andrews Links Trust. More information about St. Andrews Links and the World Shotgun 2000 can be found at http://www.standrews.org.uk/ . All players will receive a certificate of participation, actual or electronic, and golf clubs and golfers will have their names permanently recorded at the Home of Golf in St. Andrews.

About Zone.com

The Zone is the largest multiplayer online gaming site on the Internet, with more than 18 million registered members around the world, more than 76,000 users at peak times and more than 140 games available to play. The Zone offers free membership and a wide variety of games, including free card, board and puzzle games, free matchmaking for popular CD-ROM games, and premium, massively multiplayer games.

About Microsoft Links 2000

More than 17 years of passion and precision have been poured into the top-selling, award-winning
“Links LS 2000.”
Supporting more than 25 of the world’s most respected and sought-after courses, from Hawaii’s Mauna Kea to Canada’s Banff Springs to St. Andrews Old Course,
“Links LS”
is the leading PC golf simulation game.

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.

Microsoft, MSN,
“Links”
and VGA are either trademarks or registered 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.

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