ICQ Introduces ICQ Lite

Business Wire, Sept 30, 2002

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 30, 2002

New ICQ Lite Offers a Small, Quick and Easy Way to Enjoy ICQ's

Most Popular Communications Features, Including Powerful Instant

Messaging, File Transfer and SMS Text Messaging

ICQ ("I Seek You"), a world-leading online communications community and international service from America Online, Inc., today announced the launch of ICQ Lite, a new small, quick and easy-to-use version of the popular ICQ instant messaging and communications software. ICQ Lite includes the features that ICQ has been built on -- powerful instant messaging, and the ability to meet, and connect with a global community of friends. ICQ Lite also includes popular features such as file transfer, multilingual support and SMS text messaging.

Ariel Yarnitsky, co-general manager of ICQ, said: "We created ICQ Lite to meet the needs of a wide segment of consumers interested in powerful instant messaging tools made even simpler. ICQ Lite appeals to consumers who have never used ICQ before, as well as long-standing ICQ users who don't always need all the options of the full-featured ICQ. The early feedback from our users has been overwhelmingly positive and our long-standing users specifically like the ability to keep their advanced ICQ features handy with the added ability to switch between versions with a click of the mouse."

ICQ's small download size of 1.7MB means that downloading the software is fast and easy. ICQ Lite provides a simple, streamlined interface for instant messaging with convenient access to ICQ's most popular features, including:

-- Messaging - ICQ Lite delivers powerful instant messaging, the hallmark of ICQ, including new features like a typing indicator that allows users engaged in an instant message conversation to know when the other user is typing a message.

-- Meeting People - In addition to communicating in real-time with friends and family, ICQ is all about meeting new people online. ICQ Lite makes it easy with the ICQ Meet People Search Engine, the ultimate search engine for finding a person or specific group of people in the ICQ directory listings. It is even possible to search for users via their interests using ICQ's popular keyword search functionality.

-- Short Message Service (SMS) - ICQ Lite has been designed to support SMS text messaging to & from cellular phones. With ICQ Lite, users can send text messages to friends & family's cell phones, whether or not they are ICQ users.

-- File Transfer - With ICQ Lite, users are able to send and receive files quickly and easily via instant message.

-- Multilingual Messaging - ICQ Lite offers multilingual support for messaging and SMS, soon to be available in 18 languages.

The ICQ Lite software is compatible with Windows and is a time limited free Beta available for download at: http://www.icq.com/downloads

About ICQ

ICQ is wholly owned by America Online, Inc. ICQ was created in 1996 by the Israel-based company, Mirabilis, and acquired by AOL in 1998. ICQ is a world leading communications community with over 135 million registered users worldwide. On days when connected to ICQ, users spend an average of more than 4 hours on the service. ICQ offers the most robust instant messaging and enhanced communications features in the market today. The product is available for free at www.ICQ.com.