MSFT and Infoseek (SEEK) reach agreement:
Tuesday March 3, 7:00 am Eastern Time
Company Press Release
SOURCE: Infoseek Corporation
Microsoft Expedia.com Teams With Infoseek to Deliver 'Best of the Web'
Online Travel
Expedia.com Takes the Hassle Out of Travel Plans for Infoseek Customers
SUNNYVALE, Calif., March 3 /PRNewswire/ -- Infoseek (Nasdaq: SEEK - news) users will now benefit from instant
access to Microsoft's award-winning online travel site, Microsoft(R) Expedia.com ( expedia.com ). Expedia.com allows
travelers to significantly reduce the hassle of one of life's necessities -- planning trips -- by allowing them to conveniently book
their own air, car and hotel reservations for planned destinations, or discover new destinations through in-depth content and
travel news. Interactive airline seat selection, real-time flight information and an exhaustive directory of hotels ensures customers
the best of both worlds, providing convenience as well as comprehensive travel services. In addition, consumers can obtain
personalized maps, driving directions and both personal and business addresses all from within Expedia.com.
''Online travel has grown faster than any other segment of Internet commerce. Something that saves the consumers time and
money, and gives them more choices is bound to be a hit,'' said Harry Motro, president and CEO of Infoseek. ''Our
agreements with Microsoft further our mission of integrating the best relevant content with our award-winning search and
navigation service.''
Named a ''Best of the Web'' travel site by PC Magazine, Expedia.com has become one of the Web's most successful
electronic-commerce sites with travel sales for January 1998 exceeding $12M. Expedia.com will serve as the Anchor Channel
Partner and exclusive booking engine on Infoseek's Travel Channel, significantly expanding Microsoft's Internet reach. The
agreement affords Infoseek a powerful promotional vehicle to extend its brand and drive traffic to Infoseek's Travel Channel
and other areas of the site. This is the latest agreement between the two companies in a series of content and transaction
arrangements, including Microsoft Investor, Money Insider, CarPoint and MSNBC, aimed at providing advertising and
transaction-related revenue opportunities to both companies.
Online travel is the most popular area in electronic commerce, making up 50 percent of the nearly $2.5 billion spent by online
shoppers, according to Jupiter Communications. They further estimate that online travel transactions will exceed $3 billion by
the year 2000.
''Infoseek's commitment to giving its users the best of the Web is just one of the reasons it consistently ranks as a top
navigation site on the Internet,'' said Simon Breakwell, Group Manager for Microsoft's Travel Business Unit. ''Relationships
with content aggregators like Infoseek help us grow our online businesses by exposing our brands to more people.''
Infoseek Anchor Channel Partner Program
The Anchor Channel Partner Program is aimed at making best-of-class content easy to find for Infoseek viewers. Infoseek
delivers on the promise to bring the best user experience and best information to customers on the Web by entering into
partnerships with leading content providers, such as Borders Online, CMP Net and Expedia.com. Anchor Channel Partners
secure prominent logo-link placement above the right side of the tool bar at the top of the page, as well as significant presence
throughout one of the 15 channels offered on Infoseek's home page.
About Expedia.com and Microsoft
The Microsoft Expedia.com online travel planning service ( expedia.com ) is part of the Microsoft Expedia family of
travel and mapping products and services. These include the Microsoft Expedia Streets 98, Streets Deluxe 98 and Trip Planner
98 CD-ROMs ( microsoft.com ) and the Expedia Travel Network, a one-stop travel shopping mall
offering vacation packages, cruises, resorts and travel merchandise from leading suppliers ( expedia.com ).
Microsoft Expedia.com is built on Microsoft Travel Technologies, a platform suite comprising server, applications and content
designed to create the best buying experience for travel-related services online. Microsoft Travel Technologies is created with
Microsoft BackOffice(R) family products including the Windows NT(R) Server operating system, Internet Information Server
and Microsoft SQL Server(TM). Microsoft Travel Technologies supports interactive travel within an Internet or intranet
environment, using any popular Web browser, and is compatible with the top computer reservations systems.
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT - news) is the worldwide leader in software for personal computers. The
company offers a wide range of products and services for business and personal use, each designed with the mission of making
it easier and more enjoyable for people to take advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
About Infoseek
Based in Sunnyvale, Calif., Infoseek Corporation is a connected media company and a leading Internet navigation service that
is designed to be everyone's first stop on the Internet. In addition to the Infoseek Internet service, Infoseek licenses its
Ultraseek Server search and navigation software to companies for their own Intranet, Extranet and Internet sites.
Infoseek is one of the most popular sites on the Internet because its search service is both easy to use and extremely powerful,
allowing both novice and professional users to find information on the Web quickly and easily.
By offering intelligent channels and one of the world's largest directories of Web sites organized by topic, Infoseek provides
consumers with a familiar and meaningful search experience in addition to accurate, high-quality search results. Infoseek has
commerce and/or content arrangements with entities including Auto-By-Tel, Borders Group, Inc. (NYSE: BGP - news), CMP
Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: CMPX - news), Datek Online, Inc., DLJ/Direct, Microsoft Corporation, PeopleLink Inc., Bell Atlantic
(BEL), UPS, Reuters and Talk City.
Infoseek's World Wide Web site and Internet navigation services can be accessed at infoseek.com. For more
information on Infoseek's software portfolio, visit software.infoseek.com. |
