AT&T Adopts Netscape's Open Directory Project for New WorldNet Search Service AT&T Joins Leading Internet Companies AOL, Lycos and HotBot in Adopting Netscape's Open Directory Project as Internet Search Standard

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Oct. 26 /PRNewswire/ -- Netscape Communications, a subsidiary of America Online (NYSE: AOL), announced that AT&T (NYSE: T) licensed Netscape's Open Directory Project as the primary directory for the new AT&T WorldNet(R) service Internet search service. This announcement builds on the momentum of Netscape's announcement yesterday that the AltaVista Company adopted the Open Directory Project for the Popular AltaVista search service -- marking an important step in the continued growth of the Open Directory Project as a burgeoning standard for Internet search and directory services. "When AT&T needed an Internet directory to build its own search service they chose the Open Directory Project because it's the only Internet directory that is built to scale to the rapid growth of the Internet," said Jim Martin senior vice president and general manager of Netscape. "The Open Directory offers high quality and comprehensive search results and demonstrates Netscape's ongoing commitment to working with the Web community to create innovative solutions that set standards for Internet navigation." Netscape's Open Directory Project is the first Internet directory search service built by the Web community at large and is an easy and fast way to find information relevant to users needs. The Open Directory Project empowers the Web community to review and categorize sites based on their area of interest and expertise. The Open Directory Project offers more than 1,000,000 sites in over 160,000 categories from 229 countries in 44 languages, and is available today at http://dmoz.org. To promote its continued growth, Netscape makes the Open Directory Project available to anyone under a free use license. More than one hundred leading Internet companies have licensed the directory including AOL ( http://search.aol.com/ ), Netscape ( http://search.netscape.com/ ), Lycos ( http://dir.lycos.com/ ), HotBot ( http://directory.hotbot.com/ ), and InfoSpace ( http://www.infospace.com/info/index_wbs.htm ). The Open Directory Project delivers up-to-date and relevant search results by employing the industry's first freshness dating system delivering less than one-percent dead links. Consumers can easily recommend new sites for the directory and, with more than 17,000 contributors, new sites are quickly reviewed, categorized and added to the directory. Finally, Netscape helps facilitate communication in the Open Directory Project community with the newly integrated AOL Instant Messenger and ICQ services. About America Online, Inc. Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies, and e-commerce services. America Online, Inc. operates: two worldwide Internet services, America Online, with more than 18 million members, and CompuServe, with approximately 2 million members; several leading Internet brands including ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger and Digital City, Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM portals; the Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers; and AOL MovieFone, the nation's largest movie listing guide and ticketing service. Through its strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems, the Company develops and offers easy-to-deploy, end-to-end e-commerce and enterprise solutions for companies operating in the Net Economy. Additional information on Netscape is available on the Internet at http://home.netscape.com, by sending email to info@netscape.com, or by calling corporate sales at 650-937-2555. NOTE: Netscape, Netscape Navigator and the Netscape N logo are registered trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation, a subsidiary of America Online, Inc., in the United States and other countries. Sun, Sun Microsystems, the Sun Logo are trademarks of Sun Microsystems, Inc. in the United States and other countries.