MOUNTAIN VIEW and REDWOOD CITY, Calif. - October 10, 2001 -
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRSN), the worldwide leader in providing digital
trust services, and RealNames Corporation, the extended naming services
company, today announced that VeriSign is making RealNames Keywords
available to its global network of over 90 domain name registrars, enabling
those registrars to sell Keywords.
Keywords are Web addresses that are easy to remember and use. Internet
users who type Keywords (such as, ebay antiques, instead of http://pages.ebay.com/catindex/antiques.html) into
the Microsoft Internet Explorer™ browser go directly to the information
they are seeking. Keyword usage through the browser has increased over
250 percent in the last year, according to RealNames, whose diverse
customers range from small companies to high profile brands and multinational
companies.
"The Keyword Web navigation product will complement the popular
.com, .net and .org domain name services that we currently provide to
registrars," said Don Telage, senior vice president, VeriSign Global
Registry Services. "Registrars will be able to easily add Keywords
to the range of naming products and services they offer to their customers."
VeriSign plans on enabling its registrar channel to offer Keywords
through their current online systems by the end of the year. Because
Keywords support local identities, are registered on a country-by-country
basis, work in all languages, and are composed of natural language names
and phrases, VeriSign's registrar channel has a virtually limitless
inventory of Keywords to sell worldwide.
"When the largest domain name registry decides to offer Keywords,
it's an important validation of our vision, now shared by many,"
said Keith Teare, founder and CEO of RealNames Corp. "Our common
goal is to extend the range of naming services available on the Internet.
VeriSign and RealNames will undoubtedly continue to innovate by making
navigation simpler and identities more powerful."
About RealNames
RealNames Corporation is the global infrastructure provider of Keywords
and offers a naming platform for the next generation Internet. The RealNames
registration and resolution name services platform provides a modern
naming layer on top of DNS. Keywords are an innovative Web naming registration
platform that extends the existing Domain Name System, and are integrated
into Microsoft Internet Explorer browser software and the Openwave™
Mobile Access Gateway. RealNames Keywords and name services are available
through a worldwide channel of Registries and Registrars. For more information,
please enter Keyword: RealNames to visit our Web site.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. (Nasdaq:VRSN) is the worldwide leader in providing digital
trust services that enable businesses and consumers to use digital networks
with confidence. Digital trust services create a trusted environment
through three core offerings - Web identity, authentication and payment
services - powered by a global infrastructure that manages more than
5 billion communications and transactions a day. Additional news and
information about the company is available at www.verisign.com.
Statements in this announcement other than
historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements
within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and
Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. These statements
involve risks and uncertainties that could cause VeriSign's actual results
to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking
statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others,
VeriSign's limited operating history under its current business structure,
uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and potential fluctuations
in quarterly operating results, increased competition, risks associated
with the company's international business and risks related to potential
security breaches. More information about potential factors that could
affect the company's business and financial results is included in VeriSign's
filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially in the
company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2000 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarter ended June 30,
2001. VeriSign undertakes no obligation to update any of the forward-looking
statements after the date of this press release. VeriSign is a registered
trademark of VeriSign, Inc. Other names may be trademarks of their respective
owners.
RealNames and RealNames System are either
service marks or registered service marks of RealNames Corporation.
Microsoft is a registered trademark of Microsoft Corp. in the United
States and/or other countries. Openwave, the Openwave logo and Services
OS are trademarks of Openwave Systems Inc.
Contacts for RealNames:
RealNames Corporation, Lisa Poulson, lpoulson@realnames.com,
(650) 486-5565
Alexander Ogilvy Public Relations, Monica Walsh, mwalsh@alexanderogilvy.com,
(415) 677-2734
Contact for VeriSign:
VeriSign, Inc., Cheryl Regan, cregan@verisign.com,
(703) 948-4472
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