AltaVista Search: The Most Powerful Guide to the Internet Gets Stronger

Internet's First Search Freshness Guarantee Combines with New Site Design Featuring Enhanced Multimedia Search and Contextual Impluse Shopping

PALO ALTO, Calif., June 28, 1999 - AltaVista Company today announced that its powerful Internet search service now offers the Internets first search freshness guarantee, a new site design, first-of-its-kind contextual impulse shopping, and enhanced multimedia search capabilities, extending the company's leadership in innovative search technology. The enhanced AltaVista search service is the cornerstone of the AltaVista Internet media and commerce network the company announced today. The company's new offerings form the foundation of a premier Internet network that will add several new services throughout 1999 and culminate in the unveiling of the next-generation AltaVista Network by the end of the year.

"Once again AltaVista is redefining how users search for information on the Web," said Rod Schrock, President and CEO of AltaVista Company. "Our powerful search technology has always set us apart from our competitors, and the features we are announcing today establish a new benchmark for search performance. As the Web continues to evolve, AltaVista is dedicated to helping users find the relevant information they are looking for faster regardless of whether they're searching for Web page information, multimedia objects or products and services to buy online."

The company confirmed today its intent to deliver more than 25 distinctive new search features by the end of the year.

"As other Internet companies have de-emphasized improving their Web search experience, AltaVista has grown ever more determined to make searching the Internet a more relevant, satisfying experience," said Schrock. "The new search features we will unveil throughout the year will establish a level of search excellence unprecedented in the industry."

The Internet's First Freshness Guarantee

AltaVista is the largest, fastest and the first Internet site to guarantee the freshness of its index. With indexed Web pages exceeding 140 million pages and an average response time of 0.4 0.5 seconds, AltaVista now guarantees its entire 140 million-page and growing index will be refreshed every 28 days or less. AltaVista's freshness guarantee ensures users will receive the most relevant and up-to-date results on the Internet from the industry's search leader. In addition to the freshness of the index, AltaVista continues its leadership of being the fastest in the industry to add URLs to the indexes.

New Look and Feel

Visitors to AltaVista will also experience a newly designed site that features the AltaVista Connections global navigation bar to provide users one-click navigation across to the entire AltaVista Network. The site is now formatted for wide screen viewing to maximize the search information available to the user.

Enhanced Multimedia Search - Right on the Start Page

Responding to user demand for the popular AltaVista Multimedia search feature introduced earlier this year, the powerful tool has been incorporated directly into the core search function of AltaVista. Prominently displayed on the front-page search box, users can choose to target their search to image, audio and video content as well as the default option to search Web pages. Designed to provide users with the fastest and easiest access to multimedia content on the Web, AV Photo & Media Finder links to more than 17 million distinct photos, video and audio clips. AltaVista's extensive index of multimedia content includes formats such as MP3, RealAudio, WAV, AU for audio, and RealVideo, QuickTime, ASF, MPEG, AVI for video virtually every type of photo, video or audio file on the Web is searchable on AltaVista. AltaVista multimedia search uniquely offers photo and video thumbnail image results to allow the fastest time to access relevant multimedia information.

Buy the Products You're Searching for - Right at the Results Page

AltaVista now offers another industry first: the ability to buy products and services directly relevant to the information users are searching for right from the AltaVista Search results page. When users perform keyword searches on AltaVista, Web results from the vast AltaVista index will be complemented with highly relevant product offers made available by AltaVista's Shopping.com and other e-commerce partners. For example, a keyword search for "mp3 music" will return Web search results along with relevant MP3 players and music merchandise available from Shopping.com.

AltaVista enables the convenient purchase of these relevant products through the AltaVista QuickClick instant checkout. QuickClick allows purchase and checkout of relevant products in a single click directly from the results page, thereby delivering the industry's shortest time from information inquiry to product purchase.

Search and the AltaVista Network Come Together

AltaVista Search has been integrated throughout the premier AltaVista Network. This industry-leading search service is applied in three distinct fashions: as a general Web search service on the AltaVista MicroPortal, as an integrated on-site product search service for Shopping.com, and as a relevant local information retrieval service on AltaVista Local Portals.

About AltaVista Company

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AltaVista and Zip2 are registered with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. Shopping.com and Homebase are trademarks of AltaVista Company or its affiliates. Product names mentioned herein may be trademarks and/or registered trademarks of their respective companies.