Gina
Monday October 18, 8:16 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
HearMe and Yahoo! Bring Voice to Yahoo! Chat
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 18, 1999--HearMe
(Nasdaq:HEAR - news), formerly Mpath, today announced that Yahoo! Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) has now incorporated
voice chat capabilities from HearMe beyond Yahoo! Messenger (http://messenger.yahoo.com) into Yahoo!® Chat
(http://chat.yahoo.com), Yahoo!'s popular community area where users congregate to discuss a variety of topics from current
events to sports and other lifestyle interests.
''When an industry leader such as Yahoo! adopts a new application like live voice, it opens it up to a whole new audience and
level of awareness,'' explained HearMe CEO Paul Matteucci. ''Yahoo! continues to break new ground in the delivery of
cutting-edge Web applications and we are excited to be working with them to bring live voice to their millions of users.''
HearMe and Yahoo! worked together to build voice chat capabilities into Yahoo! Chat so that visitors can interact with other
people with voice, music, and other forms of sound. Using their PC microphone, Yahoo! Chat users can now talk with others in
their own voices and join a variety of fun and engaging activities, from friends and family conference calls to online Karaoke.
Through the agreement, HearMe provides the underlying Internet voice community technology for the service. Earlier this year,
Yahoo! incorporated voice chat capabilities from HearMe into Yahoo! Messenger (http://messenger.yahoo.com), Yahoo!'s
instant messenger and notification product.
The Yahoo! and HearMe relationship, in part, led to the development of the HearMe(TM) SDK, a recently announced live
voice product from HearMe that allows Web sites to integrate live voice into their existing applications in a matter of days.
Yahoo! Chat has also incorporated a ''Powered By HearMe.com(TM)'' link into its voice chat room interface for consumers
who are interested in exploring the HearMe.com voice chat communities.
''Adding live audio to Yahoo! Chat expands the way people can use this popular service,'' explained Brian Park, senior
producer, Yahoo!. ''They can use Yahoo! Messenger to talk to people in small groups, or to hold more private conversations.
Voice in Yahoo! Chat allows people to make new friends and participate in a larger community experience. HearMe's
experience with voice has allowed us to offer this service to our worldwide audience of users.''
About HearMe Voice Technology
HearMe develops and operates proprietary live voice technology capable of hosting live voice services where many users can
hear one another and communicate in real time. HearMe's client/sever software allows users to create voice chat rooms,
handles compression and playback of voice/audio streams, and communicates with the servers to provide a quality audio
experience.
HearMe technology is based on years of development and provides a scalable solution that already supports real-time
communities hosting more than 5.4 million registered members. With the recently announced HearMe technology products
(www.hearme.com/company/products) HearMe VoicePresence(TM), HearMe SDK, HearMe Starter Applications, and
HearMe POP.X(TM) 2.0. virtually any Web site has the ability to bring live voice to their Web site -- no matter what their
desired level of integration or level of expertise.
HearMe is already working with a variety of leading consumer Web sites to make voice chat a primary application on the
Internet. Companies working with HearMe.com to bring voice chat to their sites include Yahoo! Inc., E! Online, Entertainment
Boulevard, Bolt.com, NetNoir, The Black World Today, Teen.com, The St. Petersburg Times, and Boxing.com.
About HearMe
HearMe is dedicated to reshaping today's Internet applications into real-time interactive experiences through which large groups
of people can interact and communicate using text, voice and video. The company develops, operates and licenses technologies
that enable real-time Internet communication, collaboration and communities where people can gather to share affinities,
interests, or ideas.
Communication tools such as text chat applications and instant messengers are already incorporating HearMe's technology to
enable real-time voice interaction among multiple people.
Internet companies will benefit from HearMe's ability to support a variety of emerging activities including live voice chat for
online karaoke and music recitals, distance learning, online training and multiuser entertainment. HearMe technology is also
compatible with broadband video and other streaming media applications.
The company operates its own real-time consumer Internet communities, HearMe.com and Mplayer.com(TM). Through
HearMe Technology Products, the company provides software products and services for leading third-party site operators
building their own branded real-time communities.
Companies working with HearMe technology and services include Yahoo!, Macromedia, StarMedia Network, Fujitsu,
GTECH Corp., LG InterNet and CSK Sega. Founded in early 1995, Mpath Interactive, Inc., dba HearMe is located in
Mountain View. The company can be found on the Internet at www.hearme.com or reached at 650/429-3900.
Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements
that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking
statements. Potential risks and uncertainties include, without limitation, the company's dependence on its ability to significantly
increase its membership base, user minutes, advertising revenue and revenue from HearMe Technology Products customers; to
maintain and develop strategic relationships with media, Internet and technology companies; and to compete effectively. These
and other risk factors are described in detail in the company's Registration Statement on Form S-1, the company's report on
Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 1999 and June 30, 1999 and in the company's other filings with the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
Note to Editors: Yahoo!, the Yahoo! logo, Yahoo! Chat, Yahoo! Messenger are trademarks and or/registered of Yahoo! Inc.
HearMe, HearMe.com, VoicePresence and Mplayer.com are trademarks of Mpath Interactive, Inc. dba HearMe. All other
product or service names mentioned herein are trademarks of their respective owners.
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