AOL Launches Innovative Instant Messaging Robot to Teach Kids About Online Safety.

Business Editors & Internet/Education Writers

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 2002

AOLSafetyBot Serves as Virtual Crossing Guard in New "Safety Clicks!"

Campaign with National School Boards Foundation

Nationwide Campaign Releases New Safety Video, Web Site Featuring

Stars of Cartoon Network's "Dexter's Laboratory"

As part of a new national campaign for online safety called Safety Clicks!, America Online, Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, and the National School Boards Foundation (NSBF) today unveiled a first-of-its-kind educational instant messaging robot that will chat with and answer questions from young Internet users about online safety.

Children and their parents can place the robot, the AOLSafetyBot, on their Buddy Lists(r) and chat via instant messages (IMs) with it -- getting real-time responses to their questions about online safety. An animated, Web-based version of the Bot is available at www.safetyclicks.com or AOL Keyword: SafetyBot.

Jon Miller, Chairman and CEO, America Online, Inc. said: "If you want to reach kids, you have to speak in their language, and kids today chat through the cadence of clicking keyboards. This is Generation IM, and we've created a new online Buddy who can help teach them tips for online safety in plain English using a medium that many of them enjoy every day. We believe that the AOLSafetyBot will serve as a virtual crossing guard to help children learn how to stay safe online, and we're proud to be launching it today."

In addition to being available 24 hours a day and seven days a week, the AOLSafetyBot will begin touring the country this fall, sponsored by the AOL Broadband service with Time Warner Cable. During this fun, interactive presentation, kids of all ages will be able to ask the 4-foot-tall AOLSafetyBot questions and learn more about how to make safety click for them.

In addition to the AOLSafetyBot, AOL and the NSBF also unveiled other elements of the Safety Clicks! campaign. They include:

-- A seven-minute video with valuable guidelines for online safety produced in cooperation with the Cartoon Network, featuring boy genius Dexter and his sister Dee Dee from the hit series "Dexter's Laboratory";

-- A Web site -- www.safetyclicks.com -- with information and games for children as well as tips and resources for parents and educators; and

-- A downloadable brochure with six important tips about online safety for parents and children as well as additional resources for families and educators.

Through the Safety Clicks! campaign, AOL will distribute more than 4,000 copies of the video and other materials to school board officials and educators across the country. The video and all of the materials can also be accessed through the Safety Clicks! Web site.

Robin Thurman, Director of the National School Boards Foundation, commented: "When it comes to keeping children safe online, there is no substitute for parental involvement and guidance. That's why America Online's leadership in bringing parents and educators the tools they need to guide children through the online world is so important. Integrating technology into school board leadership and community involvement is an important goal of the National School Boards Foundation and our Safety Clicks! campaign is a key means to ensure that it is integrated safely."

Public Service Campaigns Launched

AOL and the NSFB launched an additional component of the Safety Clicks! campaign today with a series of online public service announcements (PSAs) across the AOL service in areas visited by both parents and children. These PSAs will reinforce the key safety messages communicated through the AOLSafetyBot, video and brochure.

Earlier this month, America Online announced the launch of the first nationwide online AMBER Alerts notification system with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. AMBER Alerts is the first nationwide initiative to use the Internet to expand the network that helps locate and rescue abducted children.

As of October 18th, 65 states, counties and cities that currently have AMBER Alert systems in place have agreed to participate in the AOL AMBER Alerts program, which launches in early November. As a result, official AMBER Alerts texts as issued by law enforcement will be sent to AOL members based on the states and localities in which they reside, via the method of their choice (on-screen alert, email, cell phone, or paging device). AOL AMBER Alerts will be sent over the new AOL Alerts & Reminders product. Already, 55,000 AOL members have pre-registered for this new, optional service. More information is available at AOL Keyword: AMBER Alerts.

For more information on the Safety Clicks! campaign, visit www.safetyclicks.com.

About America Online, Inc.

America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Time Warner Inc. Based in Dulles, Virginia, America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.

About the National School Boards Foundation

Founded in 1995, the National School Boards Foundation encourages and prepares local school board members to become catalysts for education change and agents for systematic reform in public schools so that all students will be prepared to meet the challenges of tomorrow. Its innovative projects are designed to help school boards meet today's challenges while strengthening the uniquely American tradition of local representative governance of the public schools. The National School Boards Foundation is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization affiliated with the National School Boards Association.