Microsoft Leads Industry Effort to Ask Families To Make New Year’s Resolutions to Explore the Internet Together

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22, 2000 — Microsoft Corp., a leading member of the GetNetWise coalition, today announced its plans to help kick off a national campaign Dec. 26 to encourage parents and children to make New Year’s resolutions to learn about and surf the Internet together. To support the Families Online Together campaign, which will run through Jan. 3, 2001, the MSN(r) network of Internet services has contributed approximately 24 million online advertising impressions, worth approximately $500,000, on the Microsoft(r) Network family of Web sites.

The holiday campaign is part of GetNetWise’s continuing efforts to help parents and children share their online experiences and set family Internet guidelines. Launched in July 1999, GetNetWise is a nonprofit initiative that includes many of the world’s leading Internet companies and public interest organizations.

“At Microsoft we have made a strong commitment to providing families with the tools and information they need to make the Internet a safe and enriching experience, and we are excited to be part of GetNetWise’s New Year’s Resolution campaign,” said Bob Herbold, senior vice president and chief operating officer at Microsoft. “We hope the campaign will encourage more parents and children to spend time together discussing their family’s Internet use and guidelines and exploring the Internet’s many valuable resources.”

Through the Families Online Together Web site at http://www.getnetwise.org/ , parents and children can view sample New Year’s resolutions, as well as age-specific advice and online tips for staying safe online. Microsoft and GetNetWise encourage parents and children to develop a resolution that meets their family’s individual needs.

One example of a resolution that will be available on the GetNetWise site is this:

* In 2001, our family will go online to explore and learn about the Internet together. We will set and follow family guidelines for Internet use and will discuss our online experiences with each other.

Microsoft’s leadership in the GetNetWise Families Online Together initiative is the latest in a host of child- and family-friendly online efforts Microsoft has undertaken to ensure that children and parents feel safe and secure when maneuvering online. Earlier this month, Microsoft unveiled two consumer safety sites, Stay Safe Online ( http://www.msn.staysafeonline.com/ ), a 15-minute animated tutorial that teaches basic safe surfing skills, and Safe Internet ( http://www.microsoft.com/privacy/safeinternet/ ), which offers answers to parents’ and consumers’ most commonly asked questions about protecting themselves and their information online.

Microsoft also offers several other online safety activities, from the Education Web site ( http://www.microsoft.com/education/ ) to online safety tips in MSN Explorer.

About GetNetWise

Launched in July 1999, GetNetWise is the first Webwide resource intended to help guide children in the digital age and ensure that Internet users are only “one click away” from all the resources they need to make informed decisions about their family’s online experience. It is available on all major Internet portals, through a broad range of Internet service providers and family-oriented Web sites, as well as at http://www.getnetwise.org/ . It can be reached from thousands of sites on the Web by clicking on GetNetWise’s popular blue-and-white logo with a small hand resting on a large hand guiding a computer mouse.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft Corp. (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.

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For more information, press only:

Stephanie Bluma, BSMG Worldwide, (202) 739-0255, [email protected]
Aylin Kuyumcu, BSMG Worldwide, (202) 739-0276, [email protected]
Tonya Klause, Waggener Edstrom, (703) 757-4501, [email protected]

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