Corel Corporation: Developing Countries to Benefit from Collaboration Among the United Nations Development Programme, Corel Corporation and Rebel.com

Business Wire, August 10, 1999

OTTAWA, Canada--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 10, 1999--

Two Canadian information technology (IT) corporations announced today that they are donating computer software, hardware and services worth over a million dollars to United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) Sustainable Development Networking Programme (SDNP), an initiative born of the Earth Summit that helps developing countries gain access to information on the environment and sustainable development through local and regional information networks.

The donation will help strengthen computer and Internet capacity in developing countries where SDNP operates.

The two corporations are Corel Corporation (Nasdaq:CORL) (TSE:COR.), an internationally recognized developer of award-winning graphics and business productivity applications, and Rebel.com, a leading manufacturer of computer appliances and thin servers using Linux, UNIX and Intel platforms.

The SDNP supports information networking programmes in some 40 developing countries and trains nationals to operate and participate in them. The contributions by Corel Corporation and Rebel.com will strengthen the information and networking systems in these countries, and expand the contribution SDNP makes at the local level -- whether it be in helping to quickly access information on disaster relief in Honduras in the wake of Hurricane Mitch or finding rare matching blood types to save lives in rural Pakistan.

Beginning this month, Rebel.com will provide their Linux-based NetWinder group servers to a number of local SDNP programmes, which will facilitate the use of the Internet and intranets in these countries.

"Participation in this initiative reinforces Rebel.com's role in the international field," said Michael Mansfield, president of Rebel.com. "It is also very rewarding to know that our technology is assisting in making a positive impact on sustainable development while we help to provide cutting edge information technology to developing countries."

Corel Corporation will provide Corel(R) WordPerfect(R) Suite 8 for Linux(R) in several languages to the 40 developing countries along with Corel's Linux distribution (presently in development); and the WordPerfect(R) Office for LINUX(R) suite, which is expected to be available in early 2000.

"It gives us great pleasure to bring our state-of-the-art technology to these developing countries and to aid in their sustainable development efforts," said Dr. Michael Cowpland, president and chief executive officer of Corel Corporation.

Eimi Watanabe, director of UNDP's Bureau for Development Policy, underscored the importance of such partnerships between UNDP and the private sector.

"The global challenges we face in promoting development that is sustainable and more equitable are immense," she said. "Access to IT can make a significant difference. This kind of public-private collaboration can trigger mobilization for change at the individual, community, national and international levels."

Corel Corporation

Corel Corporation is an internationally recognized developer of award-winning graphics and business productivity applications. Development of market-leading products such as the CorelDRAW(R) line of graphics applications and the Corel(R) WordPerfect(R) Suite of business tools is continually evolving to meet the demands of the corporate, retail and academic markets. Committed to performance, compatibility, value and open standards, Corel develops products for the Windows(R), Macintosh(R), UNIX(R), Linux(R) and Java(tm) platforms. Corel's common stock trades on The NASDAQ Stock Market(sm) under the symbol CORL and on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol COR. For more information visit Corel's Web site at www.corel.com.

About Rebel.com

Based in Ottawa, Canada, Rebel.com is a leading manufacturer and supplier of Linux-based NetWinder Internet server appliances. The company was recently named one of Canada's fastest growing companies by Profit magazine. Available in either compact tabletop or industrial-strength rackmount formats, the NetWinder product line includes the NetWinder DM, the NetWinder OfficeServer and the NetWinder ThinClient (available September 1999). Providing outstanding power, speed and flexibility, the NetWinder efficiently meets the development, thin-client or Web serving needs of today's organizations. For more information, please visit our Web site at www.rebel.com.

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