IGN Unveils World Watch Online City Guides
Business Wire - January 29, 1999 16:58
VANCOUVER, British Columbia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 29, 1999--IGN Internet Global Network Inc. (NASD OTC BB:IGNIF)(VSE:IGN) is pleased to announce that its news and entertainment division, IGN Broadcast (http://www.ignbroadcast.com), has gone live with its online city guide web-site, World Watch.
WorldWatch provides "the ultimate link to the world" by offering residents, business travelers and tourists complete, up-to-date and relevant information about major cities around the world. IGN's WorldWatch employs local researchers and writers who are familiar with the creation of current local content, including up-to-the-moment news, weather and sports. Dynamic content is an important addition to the online city directories - users will want to return to the site again and again for the newest and most exciting information.
Mr. Raj Chowdhry, President of IGN, stated, "I am excited about our new online city guide which features a vast array of information on an initial list of 27 of the world's largest cities. We believe that our database of city-specific information is superior to the content offered by competing sites."
Other companies offering city-specific information on the Internet include Ticketmaster City Search (NASDAQ: TMCS); Digital City, Inc., a joint-venture between America Online, Inc. (NYSE: AOL) and Tribune Company (NYSE: TRB); Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) Sidewalk.com; Excite, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: XCIT) City.Net; Lycos, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: LCOS) City Guide; and Yahoo! Inc.'s (NASDAQ: YHOO) Yahoo! Local.
WorldWatch presents city-specific information in categories such as City Guides, Hotels & Lodging, Restaurants & Clubs, Shopping, Financial, Sports, Movies & Live Entertainment, News & Media, Things to See & Do, Real Estate, Education & Employment.
WorldWatch's initial list of 27 International cities include New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Miami, Dallas, Las Vegas, Washington, DC, London, Paris, Frankfurt, Geneva, Rome, Berlin, Munich, Zurich, Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, Singapore, Hong Kong, Tokyo, Beijing, Johannesburg, Rio de Janeiro, Mexico City and Sydney.
Mr. Chowdhry continued, "Our initial database of cities will expand over time, and will eventually include many more of the large and medium-sized cities around the world. We intend to solidify our reputation as the most trusted source of current and detailed local information available on the Internet."
The potential of the Internet continues to increase each week. With only 25% of US households having access to the Internet, this figure is expected to increase to 55% in four more years (Jupiter Communications). Forrester Research recently estimated that worldwide Internet commerce could reach as high as US $3.2 trillion in 2003.
IGN's Internet gaming division, Casinos of the World (www.casinosoftheworld.com), continues to grow in popularity. The recently released Casinos of the World version 2.3 features a full complement of popular casino games, including blackjack, video poker, roulette, video keno and various slot games, including single-line slots and the only eight-line slots on the Internet. Casinos of the World also features large progressive jackpots. Casinos of the World's gaming software has won numerous industry awards, including The Gambling Registry's 'Golden Seal Award', a '5 Aces award', and Game Royal's highest honor, its '5 Cards award'. |
