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Microcap & Penny Stocks : MSU CORP-----MUCP -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: cabernetfranck who wrote (3090)	4/13/1999 9:51:00 AM
From: John J. Frawley	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6180

Chinese Can Lease Set-Top Boxes for Inexpensive Internet Access Tuesday April 13, 9:02 am Eastern Time Company Press Release Contract With Beijing Telecom to Increase Growth Estimates by 200% Number of Internet Users to Explode as Chinese Can Lease Set-Top Boxes for Inexpensive Internet Access NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 13, 1999-- New York-based Asia Media Communications' (OTC BB:ASMC - news) MyWeb business unit announced today that it has signed a major contract with Beijing Telecom, a wholly owned operating unit of China Telecom. Beijing Telecom is the sole operator of fixed lines with an estimated 4 million phone lines in Beijing. Beijing, with its 13 million inhabitants, already has the greatest number of Internet users in China, with more than 400,000 registered users. Beijing Telecom and MyWeb are to jointly deploy 200,000 units of MyWeb set-top boxes in 1999 through rental and leasing. MyWeb's set-top box system allows customers to use their television sets to connect to the Internet. According to T.S. Wong, president and CEO of Asia Media, the deal will triple the company's original growth estimates for 1999. MyWeb had a 15,000-unit installed base of set-top boxes in the Asian markets at the beginning of 1999, with plans to increase the number to 100,000 by the end of the year. ''This major breakthrough in China is expected to increase our installed base to closer to 300,000 by the end of 1999, far surpassing previous estimates,'' states Mr. Wong. ''The MyWeb set-top box enables Chinese users to use their inexpensive TV sets to connect to the Internet. Instead of a $1,000 PC, they only need to purchase a $200 set-top box. According to our agreement with Beijing Telecom, Beijing customers can now rent the set-top boxes. This may very well mean a dramatic explosion in the number of Internet users,'' explains Mr. Wong. The financial implications of today's announcement may be even more far-reaching. This is because MyWeb's business unit is built for exponential growth. MyWeb has a Web portal, MyWeb Online Service, in every market where it operates. As MyWeb executes its previously announced relationship with certain ISPs in China, the rollout of the MyWeb Online Service, the number of unique visitors per month should increase to 1.5 million. With today's developments, the number of visitors is now expected to increase to at least 2 million this year. This would be approximately half of what CNN.com (NYSE:TWX - news) and Broadcast.com (Nasdaq:BCST - news) were receiving in February. MyWeb portal's functionality is similar to popular U.S. portals America Online (NYSE:AOL - news), Excite (Nasdaq:XCIT - news) and Infoseek (Nasdaq:SEEK - news). Its e-commerce functionality resembles that of Yahoo's (Nasdaq:YHOO - news) and Lycos' (Nasdaq:LCOS - news) shopping sections. Every new MyWeb set-top box sold will channel visitors to MyWeb's online service, increasing the company's e-commerce revenues. In March alone, MyWeb's e-commerce revenues from its recently launched sites with Unilever (NYSE:UL - news) generated almost $500,000 worth of sales in just their third month of operations. ''The opportunities for e-commerce in emerging markets arise from the inefficiencies in the traditional distribution system. E-commerce will bring products to consumers at a discount compared to traditional stores. This will be the main driving force behind the expected explosive growth in e-commerce,'' continues Wong. Beijing Telecom's decision to work closely with Asia Media's MyWeb is in line with China's official Internet policy. Two months ago, the Ministry of Information Industry announced it was seeking cabinet permission to cut Internet access charges in half. According to Xinhua -- the country's official news agency -- China was to inject roughly one-seventh of its 1998 gross domestic product into its Internet efforts. Beijing has also announced programs to have 80 percent of Chinese companies wired by 2001. Recently, many U.S. companies announced their plans to enter the Chinese market as it is opening up. Last month, Microsoft (Nasdaq:MSFT - news) unveiled plans to develop high-speed broadband services in cooperation with Hong Kong Telecom (NYSE:HKT - news). Two weeks ago, Dell Computers (Nasdaq:DELL - news) announced it will start targeting the Chinese market believing that ''China is by far the single largest market of potential PC users on the planet'' (source: CNET's (Nasdaq:CNET - news) news.com 3/31/99). At the same time, Chinese officials confirmed that they would allow wireless companies to begin using U.S.-backed standards, which is good news to companies like Motorola (NYSE:MOT - news) and Lucent (NYSE:LU - news). The statements made by Asia Media Communications Ltd./MyWeb Inc.com may be forward-looking in nature. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in forward-looking statements. Asia Media Communications Ltd./MyWeb Inc.com believes that its primary risk factors include, but are not limited to: the need for substantial financial requirements; the need to develop effective internal processes and systems; the ability to attract and retain high-quality employees; changes in the overall economy; changes in technology; the number and size of competitors in its markets; changes in the law and regulatory policy; and the mix of product and services offered in the company's target markets. Merger Communications (Merger) is a media relations firm employed by the Company. The statements and opinions presented here represent the views of the Company, not Merger, as the release is based on information provided by the Company. Merger and the Company believe that all information in this release has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but can't guarantee that the statements presented herein are accurate or complete. Merger's compensation for its media relations services, including preparation of press releases, consists of a monthly retainer and warrants for the purchase of the Company's stock. Merger may have a long position in the securities of the companies in which it distributes information to the media, and Merger may be buying or selling securities in the course of its regular business. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Contact: Merger Communications Inc., Houston David Drake, 713/267-2328 (For written material) or Asia Media Communications Inc., New York Randy Slifka, 212/350-5025 (For investment inquiries) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------