Tribal Voice Teams with CommTouch Software to Combine Instant Messaging and Free Web-Based PowWow Mail

Business Wire, April 21, 1999

SCOTTS VALLEY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 21, 1999--

Creates Offline Presence for Four Million-Plus PowWow users, brings ISPs and other organizations private-labeled Internet communications bundles at a single price

Tribal Voice(tm), the developer of PowWow(R) and the leading provider of instant messaging and online community solutions, today announced that it has partnered with leading e-mail provider CommTouch Software to offer free PowWow Mail(tm) e-mail accounts to its more than 4 million worldwide users, making PowWow the most comprehensive Internet communications suite available. In addition, Tribal Voice and CommTouch now offer ISPs and other organizations one-stop-shopping for integrated, private-labeled Internet communications systems that include text and voice chat, online communities, e-mail, white boarding, instant text messaging, instant voice messaging and buddy lists for online presence detection.

Available from the Tribal Voice website (www.tribal.com), PowWow users can now conveniently check their e-mail to stay in touch with family, friends and business associates from anywhere in the world. Built via CommTouch's technology, the flexible PowWow Mail also allows PowWow users to retrieve all of their e-mail messages from multiple accounts via a single PowWow Mail account. Accessible via any browser and an Internet connection, PowWow Mail bridges the gap between interactive communications and traditional e-mail. For example, PowWow Mail automatically accepts instant messages sent when a PowWow user is offline and makes them readily accessible via e-mail, giving PowWow users a way to create an offline PowWow presence that combines the immediacy, power and efficiency of instant messaging with the reliability and widespread availability of Web-based e-mail.

For ISPs and other organizations, Tribal Voice and CommTouch now offer a single integrated Internet communications solution for internal use as well as resale. The package includes a co-branded, full-featured version of PowWow with co-branded Internet e-mail from CommTouch. This solution offers two important advantages: it provides both full interoperability with the four million-plus PowWow users worldwide and a way for ISPs to extend their brands to customers' desktops. ISPs can use this new service to create branded, Web-based e-mail services that mirror the appearance of their own Web sites, bringing a sense of cohesiveness to the user experience while also greatly augmenting their offerings in a simple, cost-effective way. This new interactive communications package is available to ISPs and other organizations immediately via advertising revenue sharing agreements or licensing on a per-subscriber basis.

"Tribal Voice's PowWow is already the most comprehensive solution for users looking to communicate online; adding e-mail to this service will only further strengthen and enhance the PowWow community experience," said CommTouch President Isabel Maxwell. "The four million-plus PowWow users now have unlimited access to e-mail anytime, anywhere from a name they trust. Plus, ISPs and other organizations can now gain a competitive edge by branding this service to best fit their individual communication needs."

"In an increasingly competitive market, ISPs have a growing need to differentiate themselves with a full suite of communication tools. Our relationship with CommTouch will help ISPs extend their brands to the desktop by offering the most comprehensive Internet communications suite available while strengthening their corporate identity," said Tribal Voice Vice President of Sales Lee Finck. "Working with CommTouch also means that we can now offer our users the best way to establish both online and offline presence, allowing them to communicate interactively with PowWow as well as traditionally with e-mail, making PowWow the most complete online communications experience around."

How to Get Free PowWow Mail

To get free PowWow Mail, users should visit www.powwowmail.com. PowWow Mail users do not need to be PowWow users. However, the PowWow instant messaging and online community software is free and can be downloaded for their Windows 95/98/NT 4.0 systems from http://www.tribal.com/download/default.cfm. ISPs and other organizations interested in the co-branded Internet communications solution should call (831) 461-3100.

About CommTouch

CommTouch is a leading global provider of private-label email services, offered exclusively through the Web sites of major Internet portals, Web-based companies, ISPs and businesses world-wide. CommTouch email is designed for superior performance and rapid scalability, offering end user interfaces in fourteen of the world's major languages. With more than eight years of delivering intuitive, award-winning email software, CommTouch provides its partners a truly comprehensive turn-key email service.

The Company partners with internationally recognized consumer-driven organizations, including Excite (Nasdaq:XCIT), McGraw Hill's Business Week Magazine (NYSE: MHP), Discovery Channel Online, Nippon Telephone & Telegraph (NYSE: NTT), ZDNet (NYSE: ZDZ), Talk City, LookSmart, Netopia (Nasdaq:NTPA), Hachette Multimedia, the McClatchy Group's Nando.net (NYSE: MNI), The Headbone Zone, News Corp. (NYSE:NWS) and People's Daily Joint Venture ChinaByte and the Hollinger Group's Jerusalem Post.