Press Release

Netscape Kicks off the Holiday "Wrap it Up" Shopping Sweepstakes

Visitors to Netscape Can Register to Win $25,000

New Shop@Netscape Offerings Include Easy and Convenient Personal Shopper Decision Guides and Online Catalogs

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., November 12 1999 -- Netscape Communications, a leading Internet company and subsidiary of America Online, Inc. (NYSE: AOL), today announced the kick-off of the Netscape Holiday "Wrap it Up" Sweepstakes. Through the Sweepstakes, visitors to the Shop@Netscape marketplace with its great consumer offerings can register for a chance to win a $25,000 dollar cash prize at http://www.netscape.com/shopping. The Sweepstakes ends January 6th, 1999.

"Netscape is thrilled to add a little excitement to this year's holiday shopping season with the Netscape Holiday "Wrap it Up" Shopping Sweepstakes," said Jim Martin, senior vice president and general manager of Netscape. "Starting today, visitors will have an added incentive to check out a full range of Shop@Netscape offerings ranging from consumer electronics to luxury items, and from business services to sporting goods."

Shop@Netscape is one of AOL, Inc.'s popular e-commerce destinations, which include Shop@AOL, Shop@AOL.COM, Shop@CompuServe and Shop@DigitalCity. These destinations are designed to deliver the most comprehensive, convenient and easy-to-use online shopping experience for busy consumers everywhere. Reaching the more than 50 million people using AOL's portfolio of interactive brands every month, these destinations offer consumers millions of products from AOL's 275 best-of-breed shopping merchants including, Beyond.com, Eddie Bauer, eToys, Fogdog.com and 800.COM, as well as sophisticated, state-of-the-art features and services for the best possible online shopping experience.

Whether consumers are looking for the perfect gift or just browsing for great gift ideas, Netscape makes holiday shopping easy with the "Personal Shopper Decision Guide" and "Online Catalog" features of Shop@Netscape.

  • Shop@Netscape offers a new Personal Shopper Decision Guide service. The Decision Guide is an interactive user session that helps shoppers find the right gift quickly and easily. By answering a series of simple questions, the Decision Guide advises the shopper on selections that match their buying criteria, simplifying and clarifying purchase decisions for busy people. The Decision Guide will be available on Shop@Netscape by the end of the month.

  • Shop@Netscape also offers online catalogs that are designed to help people get ideas and items for upcoming holidays or special events. Shop@Netscape Catalogs help make shopping more convenient for the busy consumer by offering a timely array of products and services that highlight a particular season, event or special occasion.

The Holiday "Wrap it Up" Sweepstakes is an exciting opportunity for consumers who visit Netscape for their online holiday shopping to take advantage of the enormous selection of quality brand-names and services offered on Shop@Netscape, the popular e-commerce destination on Netcenter. Shop@Netcape offers millions of items for purchase, including cordless phones, furniture, gourmet foods, apparel, digital cameras and much more. As an added benefit, all Shop@Netscape purchases include a 100 percent satisfaction guarantee, which means that if a purchaser is not completely satisfied with an item he or she purchased from Shop@Netscape, Netscape will refund the purchase price.

The Netscape Holiday "Wrap it Up" Sweepstakes will be promoted on the Netscape homepage and throughout the Shop@Netscape area of Netscape Netcenter through online links and banner advertisements.

No purchase is necessary to enter the sweepstakes. Please see official rules at http://home.netscape.com/promotions/shopat/acqsnru1.html for details.

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, worth more than 2 million members; several leading Internet brands including ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger, Digital City Inc.; Netscape Netcenter, AOL.COM portals; Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers; AOL MovieFone, Spinner Networks and NullSoft, Inc.; and Digital Marketing Services, Inc., the leading provider of online, ROI-based, marketing services and online custom market research. 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.

Netscape Netcenter is a leading portal site that provides users with a home base on the Internet. From Netcenter, users can navigate the Internet, access a broad range of consumer and business content and services, and communicate with others online. The site includes seventeen content channels, a set of leading-edge services including the new Netscape-branded Search, Site Central, Netscape Contact, Netscape SmartUpdate, Software Download, Member Directory, My Netscape personalization service and WebMail.