AUSTAR Steers Customers Toward Great Entertainment with Speech; Nuance Powers First International Enterprise Call Steering Implementation.

MENLO PARK, Calif. -- Lights, camera, action... When AUSTAR customers want to watch a pay-per-view movie, they just need to ask for it. Nuance (Nasdaq:NUAN), the voice automation expert, along with Australian voice services partner, VerifyMe, today announced that it has successfully teamed with Australia's AUSTAR to voice-enable the satellite TV service provider's customer service center and enhance the experience of customers calling the company's Box Office near-video-on-demand service.

Thanks to Nuance Call Steering(TM) and voice-enabled commerce applications, the AUSTAR customer experience is dramatically improved. Callers now can simply speak to order the movie they desire, instead of punching their way through confusing touchtone menus or waiting on hold to talk to an agent.

AUSTAR supplies subscription TV, Internet and mobile phone services to regional and rural Australia, serving more than 467,000 television subscribers. After introducing its enhanced digital service, AUSTAR Digital, this year, the company sought to revamp its touch-tone phone system with a more flexible and intuitive way for callers to access basic services. With call volume projected to top 3.6 million this year, AUSTAR sought a system that could handle calls more efficiently and allow customer service center agents to focus on callers with more complex issues.

"We are extremely pleased by the way our customers have responded to our voice technology," said Dean Walters, Chief Information Officer at AUSTAR. "Much of the credit goes to the efficiency and accuracy of Nuance Call Steering, which enables our customers to obtain the services they want quickly and easily without having to punch numbers or work through a complex menu system."

Nuance and VerifyMe developed the complete AUSTAR solution in just four months. The system handled thousands of calls the first week, and in a survey conducted by AUSTAR, customers reported they found the system appealing and easy to use. In fact, a staggering 97 percent of surveyed customers would recommend (77% would "highly recommend") the Box Office service to friends.

At the forefront of the AUSTAR system is Nuance Call Steering. It is powered by Nuance Say Anything(TM) and AccuRoute(TM) technologies, and is tightly integrated with the Nuance Voice Platform. It eliminates the need for multiple phone numbers and touchtone mazes that confuse customers and cost companies millions of dollars a year to maintain.

"Speech technology has successfully made its way into mainstream business and consumer use -- which AUSTAR's solution clearly illustrates. Providing speech access to entertainment services is a perfect fit, with customers able to easily and quickly gain access to the services they want in the most natural way, by asking for them," said Chuck Berger, president and CEO of Nuance.

About Nuance

In an era where a focus on the customer is essential to business success, Nuance provides leading companies with voice-automation solutions that enable both an outstanding customer experience and corporate cost efficiency. Nuance is a leader in the voice automation market, providing software and solutions to more than 1,000 companies worldwide. Clients include Avon, British Airways, Nomura Securities, OnStar, Sprint PCS, United Parcel Service, Vodafone and Wells Fargo. Nuance (Nasdaq:NUAN) is headquartered in Menlo Park, Calif., and has offices around the world. For more information, visit www.nuance.com or call 1-888-NUANCE-8.

About Austar United Communications (AUSTAR)

AUSTAR (Australian Stock Exchange "AUN") is a leading provider of subscription television services in Australia, providing principally satellite delivered services to regional and rural Australia. AUSTAR also offers mobile telephone and internet services. AUSTAR's 50% owned joint venture, XYZnetworks, is a significant program provider in the Australian market and owns and/or distributes Nickelodeon, Nick Jr, Discovery Channel, Channel (V), Club (V), MAX, Arena, The Lifestyle Channel, Lifestyle Food, CountryMusic Channel and The Weather Channel to an audience of more than 4 million people. In addition, AUSTAR was the first company in Australia to launch digital interactive television. www.austarunited.com.au.

About VerifyMe

VerifyMe Pty Ltd is an Australian company specialising in Voice enabled business solutions. VerifyMe has implemented Australia's first commercial application incorporating speaker verification -- AUSTAR's "Box Office" movie ordering system -- as well as numerous other voice enabled applications. For more information, please visit www.verifyme.com.au.

This press release contains forward-looking statements with respect to Nuance, including, for example, those relating to the business and customer benefits attainable by using Nuance speech products. There is no assurance that the results contemplated by any forward-looking statements will be realized. The following factors, risks and uncertainties, among others, could cause actual results to differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements: the risk that any of these products will not achieve anticipated or projected customer service and satisfaction, cost savings, deployment speed or other benefits in some or all circumstances; and other factors described in Nuance's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including, but not limited to, Nuance's last-filed Form 10-K. Nuance does not undertake to update any oral or written forward-looking statements that may be made by or on behalf of Nuance.

Nuance is a registered trademark of Nuance Communications, Inc. All other trademarks are property of their respective owners.