AOL Names James E. Martin as Senior VP and General Manager of Netscape Netcenter.

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 8, 1999--

Former President and CEO of Major IDG Business Units Brings More

than 25 Years of Consumer and Enterprise Experience To New Role

Spearheading Growth of Netcenter

America Online, Inc. (NYSE:AOL), the world's leading interactive services company, today announced the appointment of James E. Martin to the role of Senior Vice President and General Manager of Netcenter, Netscape's leading Internet portal site.

Beginning June 21, Mr. Martin will be responsible for the future growth and strategy of Netcenter, including overseeing content programming, product and service development, operations, sales and marketing. He will report directly to Barry Schuler, President of AOL Interactive Services, and brings a wealth of experience in building successful businesses.

Mr. Martin has spent the past 15 years with International Data Group heading up several business units, including serving as President and CEO for Computerworld, Inc., InfoWorld Media Group, and Macworld Communications, Inc. During his tenure with IDG, Mr. Martin was successful in growing IDG's businesses including revenue and profit growth, customer acquisition and retention, and the worldwide growth and proliferation of IDG's leading brands, and he received a number of awards for managing successful ventures there.

Recognizing the importance of interactive media and communications, Mr. Martin was an early adopter of multimedia technology and took on an advocacy role in the development and growth of the popular daytime business destination sites InfoWorld Electric and Computerworld online, as well as IDG's strategic alliance with CNN. Prior to IDG, Mr. Martin was with Ziff-Davis and before that, spent time in the consumer publishing, advertising and broadcasting industries.

Barry Schuler, President of AOL Interactive Services said: "With his experience in spearheading the growth of businesses, knowledge of the consumer and enterprise audiences, and a long track record of success, Jim Martin is the perfect fit for the exciting challenges and opportunities that lie ahead for Netcenter. He will lead the expansion of services and audience for the popular Netscape Netcenter, and under his guidance, Netcenter will be a vital part of AOL's family of brands, leveraging the advantages of AOL's infrastructure and becoming an even more powerful daytime brand."

Mr. Martin said: "I am excited by this opportunity because AOL has an aggressive, effective business model that consistently meets with success. I look forward to working closely with Barry Schuler and our many talented colleagues at Netscape to take Netcenter to the next level. Together we will build new services and content and grow Netcenter's loyal user base."

Over the past several months, Netscape has continued to build Netcenter into a leading Internet portal and has added several compelling new services to the site. Growth has continued for Netcenter with more than 15 million registrants worldwide. Traffic also continues to increase with page views up more than 60 percent over the last six months. Netcenter also continues to offer new services such as: Site Central, a free Web site building service, Netscape Sports Channel, Delivery Channel by FedEx and the My Netscape Network.

From Netcenter, users can navigate the Internet, access a broad range of consumer and business content and services, and communicate with others online. The site includes eighteen content channels and a set of leading-edge services including Netscape-branded Search, Netscape Contact, Netscape SmartUpdate, Software Download, Member Directory, My Netscape personalization service and Webmail.

About America Online, Inc.

Founded in 1985, America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies, and e-commerce services. America Online, Inc. operates: two worldwide Internet services, America Online, with more than 17 million members, and CompuServe, with approximately 2 million members; several leading Internet brands including ICQ, AOL Instant Messenger and Digital City, Inc.; the Netscape Netcenter and AOL.COM portals; the Netscape Navigator and Communicator browsers; and AOL MovieFone, the nation's No. 1 movie listing guide and ticketing service.

Through its strategic alliance with Sun Microsystems, the Company develops and offers easy-to-deploy, end-to-end e-commerce and enterprise solutions for companies operating in the Net Economy.