Netscape Communications News Release

NETSCAPE COMMUNICATIONS OPENS FOR BUSINESS IN JAPAN

If you have Japanese-language support for you Mac or Windows system, Netscape Navigator 1.1 lets you read this in Japanese.

ESTABLISHES RESELLER RELATIONS WITH LEADING JAPANESE COMPANIES

Tokyo, Japan (March 22, 1995) -- Netscape Communications Corporation today announced that it is formally entering into the Japanese marketplace with the formation of a Tokyo-based wholly owned subsidiary, Netscape Communications (Japan) Ltd. In support of its business in Japan, the company announced relationships with nine leading Japanese electronics, communications, and distribution companies that will be the primary sources in Japan for Netscape's open software products for electronic commerce and information exchange on the Internet.

Netscape's new reseller partners include Integrated Systems International Dentsu Ltd., Itochu Corporation with its subsidiary Itochu Techno-Science Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation, NEC Corporation, Nippon Telephone and Telegraph with its subsidiary NTT-PC Communications, Softbank Corporation, Software Japan International, Sony Corporation, and Toshiba Corporation. These companies will redistribute the Netscape products as systems integrators, distributors, or OEMs, and will resell Netscape's products in Japan and elsewhere around the world.

"Japan has shown a keen recognition of the Internet's potential as a global medium for electronic commerce and information exchange," said Jim Clark, chairman and founder of Netscape Communications Corporation. "Our partnership with these leading companies in Japan will enable us to deliver Netscape's open software solutions to organizations and individuals today in this new era of online business and information."

Netscape Communications named Shinichi Sugihara to head its new Japanese subsidiary, which is Netscape's first office outside of the United States. Netscape Communications (Japan) Ltd. will provide sales, marketing, and technical support to the major resellers, and will continue to work with other leading electronics, telecommunications, government, and media organizations to promote the rapid expansion of the Internet in Japan. Prior to joining Netscape, Sugihara served in top sales management positions in Nihon Sun Microsystems, Northern Telecom Japan, KLA Instrument Corporation, and TRE Corporation.

At a press conference in Tokyo today, Netscape demonstrated the ability to display Japanese characters within HTML pages using its Netscape Navigator 1.1 software. Netscape Navigator 1.1 offers Japanese language support via three common character code sets -- JIS, Shift-JIS, and EUC. This functionality allows companies and individuals for the first time to publish and access information in Kanji, Katakana, Hirokana, or the Roman letter alphabet.

Netscape's reseller partners will offer Netscape's full line of open software products to the Japanese marketplace. These products include the Netscape Navigator and Netscape server lines, which bring secure communications, performance and point-and-click simplicity to companies and individuals who want to create or access information services on global networks. Compatible with other World Wide Web browsers and servers, the products offer easy-to-use interfaces for serving and accessing hypermedia information on the net, including formatted text, graphics, audio, and video.

Netscape's servers include Netscape Communications Server, for publishing information on the Internet and private TCP/IP based networks; and Netscape Commerce Server, the Internet's first server with integrated security, which incorporates the Secure Sockets Layer protocol based on RSA Data Security technology. When paired with Netscape Navigator or other Internet browsers supporting SSL, Netscape Commerce Server lets users take advantage of such commercial services as online publications, financial services and interactive shopping.

Netscape products are available immediately from Netscape's resellers in Japan. Netscape Communications Corporation is a premier provider of open software to enable people and companies to exchange information and conduct commerce over the Internet and other global networks. The company was founded in April 1994 by Dr. James H. Clark, founder of Silicon Graphics Inc., a Fortune 500 computer systems company, and Marc Andreessen, creator of the NCSA Mosaic research prototype for the Internet. Privately held, Netscape Communications Corporation is based in Mountain View, Calif.

Netscape Communications, the Netscape Communications logo, Netscape, Netscape Commerce Server, Netscape Communications Server, Netscape Proxy Server and Netscape News Server are trademarks of Netscape Communications Corporation. NCSA Mosaic is a trademark of the University of Illinois. All other product names are trademarks of their respective companies.