PHOENIX, Arizona, May 20, 1999 - NeoPlanet, Inc., provider of the industry-leading NeoPlanet desktop portal available free for downloading at http://www.neoplanet.com, today announced it will take a leadership role in Mozilla.org's Open Instant-Messaging and Chat (OIMC) initiative, contributing key engineering resources and specifications. The program will produce extensible software that enables various instant messaging protocols to interact.

The OIMC initiative is an extension of NeoPlanet's commitment to Mozilla and the open source community, as well as an important next-step in its strategy to provide client-side services that make the Internet more consumer-friendly.

"NeoPlanet feels that, like Web page rendering, instant messaging, "buddy lists" and chat need to be open, interoperable features so that the entire community benefits," said Drew Cohen. "NeoPlanet looks forward to working with the Mozilla community to develop an interoperable technology platform for chat and instant messaging."

NeoPlanet plans to integrate the open instant messaging program into the NeoPlanet desktop portal when it is complete. NeoPlanet's current installed base is 1.3 million.

The announcement comes several days after NeoPlanet's multi-year distribution partnership announcement with Lycos, and several weeks after AOL retracted its support for Mozilla open instant messaging.

Last month at Internet World, NeoPlanet demonstrated its support for Mozilla in a Technology Preview of NeoPlanet 5.0, the first successful implementation of Mozilla's "Gecko" browsing engine. Scheduled for public release in June, NeoPlanet 5.0 will give consumers the unique ability to toggle between Microsoft and Mozilla underlying browsing technologies while navigating the Web through a single application.

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About NeoPlanet
NeoPlanet, Inc. (www.neoplanet.com) provides integrated client-side software services and content to enhance the ease-of-use of the Internet for consumers. Distributors re-brand NeoPlanet's client software, including a Web browser and e-mail client for localized and affinity marketplaces. NeoPlanet's editorial team uses the unique client interface to present the best of the Internet to NeoPlanet users. Distribution channels include ISPs, OEMs, Web sites and direct marketers. NeoPlanet and the NeoPlanet logo are the registered trademarks of NeoPlanet, Inc. NeoPlanet, Inc. Patent Pending.

CONTACT:
NeoPlanet, Inc.
Tel: 480.317.2020
pr@neoplanet.com