(COMTEX) B: USA.NET and CathayOnline Form Strategic Partnership to Ma
B: USA.NET and CathayOnline Form Strategic Partnership to Make World-Class
Email Messaging Services Available in the People's Republic of China
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. and NEW YORK, Jul 12, 1999 (BUSINESS WIRE via
COMTEX) --
-- CathayOnline Inc. to be First Internet Service Provider
to Offer USA.NET's Email Outsourcing Solutions to China, the
Fastest-Growing Internet Market in Asia --
USA.NET, a leading provider of email and advanced messaging services,
and CathayOnline Inc. (OTC BB:CAOL) today announced a strategic
partnership to provide USA.NET's world-class business email outsourcing
solutions to the People's Republic of China. The two companies will be
the first to offer USA.NET Professional Messaging in English and
Mandarin Chinese to consumers and the commercial market within the
People's Republic of China.
According to a recent Strategis Group and BDA China study, China is the
fastest-growing Internet market in Asia. By the end of this year, more
than 6.7 million people in China will have Internet access. The report
estimates that more than 33 million people in China will have Internet
access by 2003.
"As a worldwide leader in business email outsourcing, USA.NET is very
excited to be partnering with CathayOnline. Both companies view China
as a major international email hub. The number of online users there
are expected to increase more than 300% this year," said John
Gerdelman, president and CEO of USA.NET. "Through this agreement,
CathayOnline's customers will be the first to receive the latest in
leading-edge email technology, and USA.NET will continue to expand its
global presence in one of the world's fastest growing email outsourcing
markets."
CathayOnline will bundle USA.NET Professional Messaging with Internet
access service for its individual consumers. CathayOnline will also
market USA.NET's value-added email service to its corporate customers
as TorchMail by USA.NET. USA.NET Professional Messaging gives
CathayOnline the ability to provide their corporate customers with a
full range of professional email features and mail management functions
to support a growing business.
"As the leading provider of consumer and enterprise email messaging
solutions in the U.S., USA.NET is the ideal partner for CathayOnline in
our launch of TorchMail.com. This relationship empowers us with the
ability to deliver unparalleled email and advanced messaging services
to Chinese-speaking markets," said Brian Ransom, president of
CathayOnline Inc. "Based on USA.Net's success here, we know we will be
able to provide world-class consumer and corporate email outsourcing
services to the Chinese market."
The companies also expect to work together in the future to provide
additional innovative email messaging services to CathayOnline
customers.
USA.NET Professional Messaging offers CathayOnline's customers its
standard features including Junk Mail Blocker, Read Receipt, Mail
Priority, Email Collecting and Forwarding, and Signatures; mail
management features including user management, alias management,
branded and customized interface and administrative reports; and
premium features including Paging. USA.NET Professional Messaging is
accessible from virtually anywhere worldwide, connecting travelling
employees, branch offices and dealer/distributor networks.
About CathayOnline Inc. CathayOnline Inc. is aggressively striving to
become a leading, fully-diversified Internet company in the People's
Republic of China and Hong Kong. The Company employs 40 people and has
already completed strategic international and domestic alliances in
three key areas: (1) the Internet, as an Internet Service Provider
(Sichuan Torch); (2) Lotteries, through the consolidation of Lottery
Kiosks in Guangzhou; and (3) email, via acquisition of TorchMail.com
and the USA.NET strategic alliance.
About USA.NET, Inc. Based in Colorado Springs, Colo., USA.NET, Inc.
(http://www.usa.net) provides email and advanced messaging services to
more than 11 million customers including businesses, service providers
and consumers. USA.NET's offerings include: USA.NET Professional
Messaging (small to medium-sized business), USA.NET Enterprise
Messaging (large organizations), USA.NET Web Messaging (portals),
USA.NET Carrier Messaging (service providers) and USA.NET Ad Mail
(publishers). USA.NET's outsourcing solutions offer businesses a
scalable, reliable and globally accessible email service while
eliminating the hassle of installing, operating and supporting an
in-house email system. Net@ddress(R) (http://www.netaddress.com) is
USA.NET's award-winning, Web-based consumer email service.
Except for the historical information contained herein, this news
release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and
uncertainties, including statements about acceptance of the company's
services by customers of CathayOnline.
Copyright (C) 1999 Business Wire. All rights reserved.
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CONTACT: CathayOnline Inc.
Brian Ransom, 604/688-1844
investor@cathayonline.com |
