*** Celebrities Join Athletes' Families, Friends and Fans
In Using Gateway CyberSpot to Connect With Olympians ***
SALT LAKE CITY, Feb. 12 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Response to Gateway
CyberSpot e-mail kiosks located around Salt Lake City and in Gateway stores
nationwide -- created to keep Olympic athletes in touch with well-wishers
everywhere -- has caught athletes and organizers by surprise. In fact, more
than one million messages have been sent to Olympians from Gateway CyberSpots
in the first five days of operation alone, with millions more anticipated
before the Games close on Feb. 24.
"From a technical standpoint the Gateway CyberSpot network is performing
smoothly, even with 20 times more participation than we'd expected," said Greg
Seremetis, senior manager of Gateway's Olympic sponsorship. "It's really
inspiring to see so many people supporting Olympic athletes this way. It's
even more gratifying to visit the Gateway CyberSpot inside the Olympic Village
-- at any given time there are athletes from dozens of countries using our PCs
to receive communications from around the globe. Most of them are far from
home, and it means a lot to them."
A number of high-profile Americans also have recorded Gateway CyberSpot
video e-mails to Olympic athletes -- including President Bill Clinton, actor
Michael J. Fox, comedian Chris Tucker, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle,
Utah Governor Mike Leavitt, and WWF wrestler Kurt Angle, himself an Olympic
gold medallist.
Gateway -- with some 5,300 PCs powering the Olympic Winter Games --
operates more than 325 Gateway CyberSpots Powered by AT&T across the nation.
The Gateway CyberSpots are just one aspect of Gateway's multiyear effort as
the Official Computer Hardware Sponsor of the Olympic Winter Games.
The Gateway CyberSpots allow anyone to record a video message and e-mail
it to an individual Olympian or an entire team, free of charge. Creating a
message is easy: just visit any Gateway store and follow the simple
instructions at the Gateway CyberSpot kiosk. In each store, a listing of U.S.
Olympic athletes will be posted, with local athletes highlighted. Gateway
representatives will be on hand at all kiosks to help if needed. For a
listing of all Gateway stores, visit http://www.gateway.com and click on "Find a
Store."
While supplies last, everyone who shows their support for U.S. Olympic
athletes by sending a Gateway CyberSpot video e-mail will receive a free
commemorative, limited-edition Olympic pin featuring the Gateway cow riding a
bobsled.
The Gateway CyberSpots are the only way to send video e-mails to Olympic
athletes.
In Salt Lake City, two Gateway CyberSpots Powered by AT&T (a total of
50 kiosks) are located inside the Olympic Village on the University of Utah
campus, where athletes are housed during the Games. Another Gateway
CyberSpot, with a total of 16 kiosks, is located at the Main Media Center in
downtown Salt Lake City where more than 9,000 journalists from around the
world are reporting on the Games. Each Gateway CyberSpot features cutting-
edge Gateway personal computers and high-speed broadband connectivity provided
by AT&T. Athletes can send and receive e-mail, access the Internet, enjoy
digital music and play interactive games.
Following the Games, Gateway will donate up to 4,500 of the PCs used at
the Olympic Winter Games to local communities across the United States, with
priority given to community centers whose programs help enhance access to
technology for traditionally underserved communities.
About Gateway
Gateway, Inc. (NYSE: GTW), a personal technology company, improves
people's lives through a combination of the latest and best hardware,
communication tools, applications, training and service, all wrapped in a
custom financing package. The company takes a localized approach, utilizing
its Web site, call centers and nationwide network of Gateway retail stores to
build direct relationships with consumers, small and medium businesses and
government and education institutions. A Fortune 500(R) company founded in
1985, Gateway is ranked as the most admired American company in the Computers
and Office Equipment industry in a Fortune magazine survey(1) and is the top
brand in customer loyalty and for first-time home computer purchases of
Wintel-based PCs(2). For more information, visit Gateway's Web site at
http://www.gateway.com .
(1) Fortune Magazine, "America's Most Admired Companies,"
February 19, 2001.
(2) From the Harris Interactive Consumer TechPoll(SM) study of
140,000 PC owners who use the Internet, released March 5, 2001.
SOURCE Gateway, Inc.
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Related links:
http://www.gateway.com
CONTACT:
Media (Salt Lake City), Brad Williams,
+1-858-848-2511, brad.williams@gateway.com, or Greg Lund,
+1-801-215-4741, greg.lund@gateway.com, both of Gateway, Inc.
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