StarMedia Network CEO and Chairman Fernando Espuelas to Deliver Keynote at The International Network 2000, May 31 - June 2, 2000, at the Metropolitan Pavilion, New York

Business Wire, May 12, 2000

Business Editors & High Tech Writers

The International Network 2000

NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 12, 2000

Rising Tide Studios (RTS) today announced that Fernando Espuelas, CEO and chairman of StarMedia Network Inc. (Nasdaq:STRM) will deliver a keynote address at The International Network 2000 (TIN2000), a conference devoted to exploring the trends, issues, and challenges of the global Internet industry -- May 31 to June 2, 2000 at the Metropolitan Pavilion in New York City.

In 1996, Fernando Espuelas, an advocate for building a Latin American community that spans national borders, co-founded StarMedia, a portal for Spanish and Portuguese communities in the United States and Latin America.

He has raised more than $500 million in private equity funding to support his endeavor and has secured more than 175 content and e-commerce strategic partners for StarMedia.

Espuelas was honored as one of the "Leaders of the Millennium" by "Time" magazine. He was also presented with the 1999 Business award by "New York" magazine and is ranked second in the 1999 Silicon Alley 100.

TIN2000 Co-Chair Jason McCabe Calacanis said, "Fernando is one of the most visionary and relentless entrepreneurs I've had the privilege of covering in my four years as editor of the `Silicon Alley Reporter.' Anyone looking to expand their business outside of the United States should listen to Fernando with a fine ear."

In addition, more than 150 speakers from around the world will discuss topics including "Wireless: Tapping the World's Favorite Way to Get Online"; "Funding the Worldwide Net Revolution: The Crucial Role of Incubators and Venture Capital Firms"; "The Double-edged American Sword: How to Reconcile Issues of Cultural Dominance and Difference"; and "Taking the International Plunge: How to Open an Office Outside Your Home Country."

"By the end of 2000, more than half the world's active Net users will be from outside the U.S., so we have programmed 20 region and country-focused discussion groups, called think tanks, that will allow attendees interested in doing business in a specific region to hear from native entrepreneurs, VCs, and American executives who have already expanded their dot-com business to that area of the world," TIN2000 co-chair Kirin Kalia said.

TIN2000 is sponsored in part by IBM, Bowne, Real Media, Scient, Latham & Watkins, Yazam.com, Ericsson, Chinadotcom, American Airlines, and Icon Medialab.

TIN2000 is a production of Rising Tide Studios, A New York-based integrated media company that produces business-to-business intelligence online, in print, and in person. RTS publishes two print magazines: "Silicon Alley Reporter" and "Digital Coast Reporter," and produces four online publications: Silicon Alley Daily, Digital Coast Weekly, iHealthcare Weekly, and Digital Music Weekly. RTS produces annual conferences, including the recent Internet Healthcare 2000 (www.internethealthcare2000.com), Silicon Alley 2000 (www.siliconalley2000.com), Digital Coast 99 (www.digitalcoast99.com) and the upcoming Rising Tide Summit III (www.risingtidesummit.com), June 27 to 29, 2000.

Visit www.TIN2000.com for a conference schedule, description of keynotes, fireside chats, panel discussions/think tanks, speaker bios, and press credentials.