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Pastimes : Georgia Bard's Corner -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Ga Bard who wrote (5342)	4/22/1999 11:12:00 PM
From: Fact4	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 9440

SJI Group Launches Unique Online Shopping Mall; New 24/7 Mall Features Wide Range of Products From Leading Manufacturers and Retailers KNOXVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 1999--SJI Group, Inc. (OTC BB:SJIG) today reported that, through its subsidiary Internet Laboratories, it has formally launched its newest Internet site, a new online shopping service, the "24/7 Mall," located at 247mall.com, which brings to consumers a wide variety of products and services from leading manufacturers, retailers and companies worldwide. Among the product categories already available to e-commerce consumers are gifts, automobiles, music and movies, cigars & spirits, fashion, entertainment, electronics, dining, travel, arcade and reading rack. The 24/7 Mall already features affiliate partnerships with many of the online storefronts and links to over 70 e-commerce sites and the list of mall participants is expected to grow steadily. SJI is offering opportunities for mall participation to retailers and other companies via affiliate programs and/or the purchase of mall store fronts, as well as through advertising and direct links. To further the growth of the mall, SJI plans to continue to develop its own storefronts for inclusion in a variety of specialty product niches. "We believe our new online shopping mall, which is open 24 hours a day and 7 days a week, represents a breakthrough in niche e-commerce," commented J.D. Jenkins, Chairman and CEO of SJI Group. "Our goal is to offer consumers one of the most comprehensive collection of goods and services available via one single web site, coupled with tremendous ease of use. And, we plan to take that ease of use to an even higher level, with the future availability of a customizable user interface and the ability for users to directly access niches within the mall that are of interest to them. We also plan to add unique search capabilities, as well as special services such as a gift registry. In short, we see the 24/7 Mall becoming a central shopping station for the Internet, with the ability to access from within it an elite group of e-commerce, service and information sites." 24/7 Mall merchants are hand selected prior to inclusion. The selection process is based upon many factors, some of which may include the ease of use of the site, the time it takes the site to load, the products offered, competitive pricing, return policy and content. Not all sites are revenue sharing nor are they required to offer affiliate programs. Some are included for their content and convenience of the shoppers. SJI will continue to ad such sites in the future to increase the value to the consumer. Merchants interested in participating in the 24/7 Mall should apply at 247mall.com. Currently, the 24/7 Mall's automobile category contains sites such as Car Trackers, Kelly Blue Book and Autobytel, as well as major auto manufacturers such as GM, Chrysler, Jaguar, Mazda, BMW, Audi, Ford and Lincoln-Mercury. Music fans can access Amazon Music, Second Spin and Sheet Music Plus, while movie buffs can find their favorites at either Amazon Movies or DVD Empire, and book and magazine lovers can choose between Amazon Books, Audio Book Club, Publisher's Clearinghouse and MagMall. Current electronics retailers include Electronics Net, Etoys, Beyond.com, Cyberian Outpost, Computer Gear and Outpost.com, where almost everything from computers and software to high tech toys, audio equipment and televisions is available. Fashion, accessories and a broad range of other merchandise is available from major retailers such as Sears, Dillards, JC Penney, Wal-Mart, Target, as well as direct from Avon, Fragrance Net and Applied Health Solutions. Food lovers can select from Omaha Steaks, The Lobster Net, The Chef's Store, Twin Peaks Gourmet, Candy Direct, Chef's Kitchen and HotHotHot, while wine connoisseurs can find just the right choice from Virtual Vineyards or Liquor by Wire. And for the perfect cigar to compliment a great meal, SJI Tobacco's industry leading web site can also be directly accessed. There is even the 24/7 ticket service, offering tickets to events, concerts and shows worldwide. Finally, if travel plans need to be made, travelers can select between nearly all major airlines, car rental agencies and hotel chains from within the 24/7 Mall. SJI Group plans an extensive marketing campaign which will include Internet marketing as well as traditional print media. Internet marketing will consist of banner advertisements as well as contests and promotions in addition to joint promotions with some key affiliate partners. SJI Group, Inc. is a sales and marketing organization that specializes in the development of Internet properties. SJI Group designs and hosts Internet Web sites for a diverse business clientele. SJI Group has a track record of success with the development of Internet properties. Among the sites and developments, SJI has been recognized as the first to operate a commercial Web site devoted exclusively to the sale of premium cigars, pipes and accessories. This site has generated millions of dollars in sales since it began operating. More recently, SJI Group developed and later sold an Internet subsidiary, Maverick Communications, which operated an Internet Search Engine, the Internet Sleuth (http://www.isleuth.com). SJI Group currently holds in excess of 1,000,000 shares of restricted common stock in the Sleuth (OTC BB:SLEU). SJI Group, through its wholly owned subsidiary Internet Laboratories, is currently developing a reverse auction site with the national Internet magazine WEBBOUND. The site, CutThePrice.Com is scheduled for release during the third quarter of 1999. In addition, SJI Group is actively seeking to acquire existing e-commerce Internet sites. For more information regarding SJI Group, Inc., its products and services, please visit the Company's corporate web site at sjigroup.com; its SJI Tobacco (Smokin' Joe's) web site located at sjitobacco.com; or the 247Mall at 247mall.com. Statements about the Company's future expectations, including future revenues and earnings, and all other statements in the press release other than historical facts are "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. The Company intends that such forward-looking statements be subject to the safe harbors created thereby. Since these statements involve risks and uncertainties and are subject to change at any time, the Company's actual results could differ materially from expected results. CONTACT: SJI Group, Inc., Knoxville J.D. Jenkins, 423/584-3398, ext. 3993 jd@sjigroup.com

To: Ga Bard who wrote (5342)	4/23/1999 2:14:00 PM
From: jeffrey rainey	Respond to of 9440

more news****** ERTOWN, Pa., April 23 /PRNewswire/ -- CitX Corporation of Quakertown Pennsylvania and CBQ Inc., publicly traded as (OTC BB: CBQI), announced today that they are in the process of completing a merger agreement and expect to finalize the transaction within days. The merger will add management, technical, and marketing talent to rapidly develop and deploy integrated B2B e Commerce solutions, Internet-based e Business solutions, and to aggressively move the CBQ bid4it B2B auction system into several vertical markets. The primary terms of the transaction include the integration of CitX key management people and technical staff, acquisition of CitX assets, technology licenses, and 90% of CitX Stock, in exchange for a 66% equity stake in CBQ by current CitX shareholders. Once the transaction has been approved by the Boards of both companies, the Directors will move to change the publicly trading name to CitX. CitX plans to grow its staff to about 250 people over the next 12 months and will continue to maintain its primary corporate offices in Quakertown, PA, and three network operations centers/sales offices located in California, Florida, and Texas. CitX Corporation is a privately-held, leading high-tech company that primarily develops and markets business-to-business e Commerce solutions, Community-Centric Portals, and Network-Centric (Web-Hosted) software applications, delivered securely across the Internet and private heterogeneous networks. Recently, CitX founders have formed the following two new companies: First Portals Corporation, to focus on developing and marketing vertical B2B Portals; and IntraMedX Corporation, to focus on developing and marketing integrated Internet-based solutions for the Healthcare sector. This move was made to better enable CitX to focus on its core competency, B2B e Commerce, e Business solutions, and Internet-based Relationship Marketing solutions. CitX has issued exclusive licenses to its e Commerce technology to each of these new companies and has secured a 10% equity position in each company. CitX CEO and founder, Bernie Roemmele, has formed strategic partnerships with Redix, NCR Corp., Priority One ECC, Bell Atlantic, Alternative Link, Zonics, and is in the process of forming additional strategic partnerships to effectively drive B2B e Commerce solutions into specific vertical markets. Revenue resulting form the combined active customer base of CitX and CBQ, including new sales opportunities stemming from strategic partnerships, is projected to exceed $60,000,000 over the next 6 to 12 months. Commenting on the merger, Bernie Roemmele, CEO of CitX Corporation, said, "We have been quietly executing our business plan and strategies, effectively building a national infrastructure, robust technical resources, and core B2B e Commerce/e Business technology for national deployment. Unlike most companies in the Internet space, CitX has been a profitable company with growing revenues, funded to date primarily by its founders and principal shareholders. CitX is now ready to execute its national marketing plan, and with the help of our strategic partners and supporting shareholders, we expect to be world leaders in the B2B e Commerce/e Business space." Earlier this week, CBQ purchased Priority One, a sister company of CitX. Priority One is a leader in Internet electronic payment processing. Priority One's proprietary Bill Collect(TM) system relieves sellers from the burden of sending invoices, waiting for checks to arrive in the mail, and collecting accounts receivables. Bill Collect is a high-tech, automated system that handles electronic funds transfers (EFTs) and credit card payments for Internet e Commerce businesses and traditional sales companies. CitX has developed a unique, Web-enabled integrated B2B e Commerce platform called Intrapay, to collect and disburse payments via the Internet. The Intrapay platform is comprised of various service modules, which clients may subscribe to, enabling cost-effective, enterprise-wide, EDI and Y2K compliant e Commerce functionality and direct interface between their current legacy systems and the Priority One Bill Collect service. CitX has also released IntraEUROX, to enable international use of the Intrapay system for enterprise-wide e Commerce transaction processing by multi-national corporations. Most of CitX's products and services are provided on a fee-for-use basis and are available through its many strategic partners, system integrators, independent representatives, and direct online users. The CitX management team has more than 8 years experience in providing Web-Hosted software applications, Electronic Commerce solutions, and Community-Centric Portals for many vertical markets such as business-to-business, Healthcare, Insurance, Banking, Retail, Organizations, and the Government. CBQ's wholly owned subsidiary, CyberQuest Inc., is the developer of www.bid4it.com, a virtual, Internet-based marketplace, based on the principles of securities trading. bid4it is a completely automated electronic marketplace that produces a "true" market price of products based on the open market interaction between bidders and sellers. Bidders electronically bid ("Bid") on desired products and may modify or delete their bids at any time before the Bid matches a Seller's "asking price" ("Ask"). The Seller may accept any Bid at any time and may modify or delete their Ask at any time before it matches a Bid. bid4it allows sellers to compete in a worldwide market for the buyers of all types of products. CyberQuest's CyberMarketMaker(TM) integrates the best features of securities trading with an auction market. Bidding activity is continually analyzed and asking prices moved up or down in response to market activity. When a Bid and Ask match, the transaction is electronically completed, and the product is ordered and shipped to the buyer with instant notification to all parties. For more information about CyberQuest, visit www.bid4it.com (bid4it website), and www.cbq.com (Corporate website). For more information about CitX call 215-538-3535, email bernie@citx.net, or visit the CitX website at citx.net. bid4it and CyberMarketMaker are trademarks of CyberQuest, Inc. CyberQuest sub-licenses the bid4it software and related technologies to interested parties. Intrapay is a trademark of CitX Corporation. Bill Collect is a trademark of Priority One. NOTE: All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.