Network Solutions Issues White Paper on Evolution of Internet Search Engines, Role of dot com directory

Business Wire, Oct 7, 1999

New York--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 7, 1999--

NSI's dot com directory serves e-commerce interests and

industry's evolution from "search" to "find" engines

Network Solutions today unveiled a White Paper outlining the challenges facing the Internet community as Net-savvy consumers demand search tools that not only offer comprehensiveness and relevancy but also help them find company Web sites to support e-commerce.

The 14-page document entitled, "The Evolution of Internet Search Engines," traces the development of search engines, yellow pages and directories on the Web, from the early days of Web "crawlers" and "spiders" through category search engines to today's more refined directories. Despite improvements in Web search engines, finding a business on the Web has been an obstacle for many companies and consumers.

Due to the rise in Web address registrations in .com, .net and .org, which now exceed 5.3 million, and the need to locate online businesses, Network Solutions recently introduced its dot com directory(TM) (http://www.dotcomdirectory.com.) Described as an Internet "find engine," the dot com directory is one of the largest online business directories designed to help users quickly find, research and link directly to businesses that have a .com, .net or .org Web address. Currently, the dot com directory lists more than 2 million businesses in the U.S. and Canada.

"Traditional search engines cannot keep pace with content on the exploding Internet," said Doug Wolford, general manager, Registrar and Value Added Services, Network Solutions. "Directories based on the traditional `phone book' model are fine for locating physical merchants with street addresses and phone numbers, but finding a company's Web site presents challenges. The dot com directory combines the reach of a search engine with the business specificity of the yellow pages in one easy-to-use format."

When consumers key in geographic information and category criteria on the query page of the directory, "Washington, D.C." and "Accountants," for example, they will see a list of all the accountants in the D.C. area with Web sites. In addition to Web site links, the results show company overviews, news headlines, financials, maps and other useful information.

About Network Solutions

Founded in 1979, Network Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ: NSOL) pioneered the development of registering Web addresses ending in .com, .net, .org and .edu. Network Solutions also provides Internet Technology Services that assist large commercial organizations in the evolution and management of their Internet technologies. For more information, see the http://www.networksolutions.com Web site.

Network Solutions is the world's leading registrar, with more than 5 million net registrations. Network Solutions registers the majority of Web addresses worldwide through various channels including nearly 200 companies in over 30 countries in its Premier program. Network Solutions has created value-added small business solutions through agreements with leading companies such as American Express (NYSE: AXP) and Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT). Through its Alliance Program, Network Solutions works closely with EarthLink (NASDAQ: ELNK), MindSpring Enterprises, Inc. (NASDAQ: MSPG), Interliant, Inc. (formerly Sage Networks, Inc.) (NASDAQ: INIT), ValueWeb (NASDAQ: ESPI) and Interland, Inc. Network Solutions also has entered into a marketing agreements with companies like Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO).

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, uncertainty of Internet governance and regulation, increased competition in the domain name registration and directory services businesses, customer acceptance of new products and services offered by the company in addition to or as enhancements of its registration services, developments relating to the dot com directory, risks associated with the company's international business, uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and fluctuations in its quarterly operating results. More information about potential factors that could affect the company's business and financial results is included in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially in the company's Registration Statement on Form S-3 filed on January 4, 1999, as amended, Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998 and Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q for the periods ended March 31, 1999 and June 30, 1999.