CNET Download.com Announces ''Hall of Fame'' to Honor Online Software Pioneers

Business Wire, July 29, 2003

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 29, 2003

CNET Download.com, a property of CNET Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: CNET), today unveiled its "Hall of Fame" award program to recognize the most popular, high-quality, and time-tested software products in its online software library. CNET Download.com is the Web's largest electronic software library, and supports more than 2.5 million software downloads each day from its worldwide user base. The Hall of Fame launched with its first four inductees: Adobe(R) Reader(R), ICQ, Winamp, and WinZip.

CNET Download.com's Hall of Fame is based on three criteria: longevity, popularity, and quality. The products included in this elite group have been listed on CNET Download.com for at least five years, have earned an "Editors' Pick" recommendation, and have remained on CNET Download.com's "Most Popular" list for the duration of their posting. The extent of the success of these programs was evident today when WinZip Computing announced that since 1996, its WinZip program has been downloaded more than 100 million times through Download.com.

"CNET Download.com's Most Popular list serves as the barometer for software market trends, explaining the past, showing the present, and predicting the future of online software development," said Scott Arpajian, senior vice president, CNET Download.com. "The length of time our inductees have remained popular with editors and users on our site speaks volumes about the quality of their products and the value they've provided and will continue to provide to our users."

"WinZip posted the first version of its product on CNET Download.com 7 years ago, and since then has seen significant traction in the use and purchase of the product," said Edwin Siebesma, president, WinZip Computing. "As the distribution model for software has shifted from in-store sales to online try-before-you-buy distribution, Download.com has proved an invaluable venue for promoting and listing our products."

Download.com will continue to induct new software programs into its Hall of Fame, as they reach the high bar the service has set for performance.

Inductees and their products include:

-- Adobe Reader by Adobe Systems Incorporated - This free

software allows users to view, interact with, and print Adobe

Portable Document Format (PDF) files on numerous hardware and

operating system platforms. Over half-a-billion copies of

Adobe Reader have been distributed since its 1993

introduction. www.adobe.com

-- ICQ by America Online - A leading international communications

community with more than 160 million registrants, ICQ "I Seek

You" is a communications portal built around the ability to

seek and communicate with friends, family, and colleagues

online. www.icq.com

-- Winamp by Nullsoft/AOL- Winamp is an audio player that can

handle audio CDs, MP3 audio files, and streaming audio

broadcasts. www.winamp.com

-- WinZip by WinZip Computing - WinZip is a powerful, fast, and

easy-to-use Zip file utility, with support for most Internet

file formats, Wizard & Classic interfaces, XP features, and

E-mail support. www.winzip.com

CNET Download.com is a trusted source of information for buyers and sellers of try-before-you-buy software, enabling IS/IT professionals, developers, business users, and personal technology enthusiasts to have a hands-on evaluation of products they are considering for purchase. The site has a variety of listing and marketing programs for software vendors that increase their visibility in front of CNET Download.com's millions of monthly users. For more information on how to list and market software products, please visit http://www.upload.com.

About CNET Networks, Inc.

CNET Networks, Inc. (www.cnetnetworks.com) is a leading global media company informing and connecting the buyers, users and sellers of technology. The company's product portfolio includes top brands CNET, ZDNet, TechRepublic, Builder.com, News.com, GameSpot, Download.com, and mySimon, as well as Computer Shopper magazine, and CNET Channel. With a strong presence in the US, Asia and Europe, CNET Networks has operations in 16 countries.