WORLDS.COM SIGNS AGREEMENT TO PROVIDE E-NEW MEDIA WITH ASIAN VIRTUAL WEBSITES
BOSTON, December 29, 1999 - Worlds.com (OTC: WDDD) today announced a multi-year website development and revenue sharing agreement with Hong Kong-based e-New Media 3D Company Ltd. Under terms of the agreement, Worlds.com will employ its proprietary three-dimensional (3D) technology to create 10 virtual Asian language and style chat and entertainment worlds for the burgeoning Far Eastern region.
The contract calls for Worlds.com to provide two customized websites with real time text chat capability in the traditional Chinese, simplified Chinese, Japanese, Bahasa (for Indonesia) and Thai languages.
Worlds.com will receive an immediate payment of $500,000 from e-New Media. Additional payments will be due Worlds.com if e-New Media elects to continue to receive certain exclusive rights in Japan for the content and software provided by Worlds.com. Worlds.com will share all VIP (subscription), advertising and connectivity revenue generated through the sites with e-New Media. Worlds.com will be entitled to an additional payment of $250,000 when the first website is delivered.
The e-New Media transaction is the second major international contract signed by Worlds.com. In July, the Company joined with Freeserve, plc (NASDAQ: FREE), the United Kingdom's largest Internet Service Provider (ISP) and a major Internet portal, to be the exclusive provider of 2-D and 3-D broadband chat content on that service.
Steven G. Chrust, Worlds.com chairman, said, "The agreement with e-New Media demonstrates Worlds.com's universal acceptance and ability to cross cultural barriers with our immersive 3D technology. The market in Asia is extremely important and rapidly expanding. In China alone, the on-line user rate is growing at a compound annual rate of more than 50 percent.
"By incorporating multiple languages with our 3D products and services," Chrust said, "we are solidifying our global presence and gaining revenue from usage and site development. In addition, Worlds.com is facilitating cross-cultural communication beyond the English-speaking audience and setting the standard for the future of three-dimensional Internet communication."
About Worlds.com
Worlds.com is a consumer entertainment portal that creates three-dimensional virtual "worlds" in which consumers communicate in new ways, view new forms of integrated advertising and conduct e-commerce. Its proprietary content and software permit animation and motion in 3D Internet communities, which enable online users to move about various spaces via the selection of an avatar. Worlds.com Avatar Gallery has over 100 different characters (avatars) from which an online user may select and customize into one of millions of different avatars.
Worlds.com Internet software and broadband content are delivered and installed via the Internet, Worlds.com branded CDs, from participating audio CDs or ISP access CDs and by cable modems. The technology forms the platform for multi-user voice and text chat, e-commerce and advertising forums.
About e-New Media
e-New Media , which is listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange (Stock number 128), is an international telecommunications and information services company providing specialized solutions for telephone and Internet based transactions. The company operates systems which enable its customers to sell and deliver digital products (mainly information and entertainment products) through the worldwide telecommunications and Internet infrastructure to the end-user and to collect the payments. e-New Media will employ Worlds.com's proprietary technology to provide a three-dimensional interactive environment for the pan-Asian e-commerce platform it is currently developing, which also leverages the company's recently acquired HyperLOCK technology.
Forward Looking Statements. Except for any historical information contained herein, the matters discussed in this news release contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties are described in the company's filings with the SEC. Given these uncertainties; prospective investors are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements. The company disclaims any obligation to update any such factors or to announce publicly the results of any revisions to any of the forward-looking statements contained herein to reflect future events or developments.
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