Challenge Sir Elton John and Help Fight the Battle Against HIV/AIDS

REDMOND, Wash., Sept. 4, 2001 — To raise funds for the prevention of and education about HIV/AIDS, Microsoft Corp. today announced the MSN® Money AIDS Market Challenge, featuring pop-music icon Sir Elton John. Consumers can log on to CNBC on MSN Money and learn how to improve their stock-picking skills while participating in the site’s second major virtual portfolio contest supporting a worthy cause.

For each person who enters the competition, Microsoft will make a 50-cent donation* to the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Established by Chairman Sir Elton John in 1992, the foundation is an international nonprofit organization funding HIV/AIDS prevention education programs and direct patient services worldwide.

“I am thrilled to accept the ‘market challenge’ by MSN, and encourage everyone to get involved and test their skills at selecting stocks,”
Sir Elton John said.
“The Elton John AIDS Foundation gratefully acknowledges Microsoft’s support in the fight against AIDS.”

Beginning today, contestants can register for the MSN Money AIDS Market Challenge at http://money.msn.com/community/competition/ and select up to four stocks for their contest portfolio, which will compete with portfolios assembled by Sir Elton John and other participants. The winner will be determined based on best stock performance between Oct. 2 and Oct. 17, 2001. A trip for two to Sir Elton John’s concert in Singapore, including airfare, hotel accommodations and $500 in spending money, will be awarded to the winner.**

“For people feeling uncertain about the financial risks of investing, the MSN Money AIDS Market Challenge is a fun way to pick stocks and learn more about the financial resources and tools available online,”
said Chris Jolley, director of marketing for CNBC on MSN Money.
“In addition, this challenge demonstrates our commitment to supporting the Elton John AIDS Foundation in furthering education and funding that is critical to the prevention and increased awareness of a disease affecting so many lives.”

Investing Tools and Tips

CNBC on MSN Money offers consumers a wealth of tools, news and information to help them research new investment opportunities. The site features unbiased commentary from investment experts; a Research Wizard that demonstrates the fundamentals of researching a stock; MSN Stock Lists that track virtual holdings any time, any place throughout MSN; and MSN Messenger Service stock alerts that inform users whenever a stock rises above or falls below a certain price threshold.

Through the site’s alliance with CNBC, consumers also can tap into content from the world’s leading financial news cable channel for the latest commentary, market reports and stock picks.

About CNBC on MSN Money

CNBC on MSN Money, located exclusively on MSN, is a complete online personal finance service that combines the award-winning finance tools and content from Microsoft, the worldwide leader in software, with exclusive investment news and analysis from CNBC, the world’s most popular financial cable news network. CNBC on MSN Money empowers consumers to easily complete a wide range of everyday financial tasks, such as paying bills, viewing account balances, tracking investments, planning for retirement and staying informed on the latest financial news — in one convenient place online, any time, any place.

CNBC on MSN Money enables people at all levels of experience to take control of and feel comfortable with their finances, helping them make smart financial decisions. Leading industry publications, including Barron’s, Forbes Magazine, Money Magazine, PC Magazine and PC World Magazine, consistently applaud the sophisticated personal finance tools and information from Microsoft. The service is available at http://www.cnbc.com/ or http://money.msn.com/ , or by visiting MSN.

About CNBC

CNBC is the recognized global leader in business news, providing real-time financial market coverage and business information to more than 198 million homes worldwide, including more than 82 million households in the United States and Canada. The network’s Business Day programming (weekdays from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET) is produced at CNBC’s headquarters in Fort Lee, N.J., and includes reports from CNBC news bureaus worldwide. In addition, CNBC viewers can manage their individual investment portfolios and gain additional in-depth information from on-air reports by accessing http://www.cnbc.com/ . CNBC Europe and CNBC Asia Pacific are services of NBC and Dow Jones & Co. Members of the media can receive more information about CNBC and its programming on the NBC Media Village Web site at http://www.nbcmv.com/cnbc/ .

About MSN

MSN is the world’s most popular destination on the Web, attracting more than 250 million visitors per month. Available in 33 markets and 17 languages, MSN provides consumers with their home on the Web — where they can get everything they need from the Web and make the most of their time online. MSN is a world leader in delivering Web services to consumers and digital marketing solutions to businesses worldwide. MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.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.

* Total donation not to exceed $250,000. For a complete list of rules see Web site.

** No purchase necessary. Open only to U.S. residents 18 years or older.

Microsoft and MSN 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.

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