America Online To Offer Gavel-to-Gavel Online Coverage of 2000 National Political Conventions.

Business Editors/Hi-Tech Writers

DULLES, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 7, 2000

For First Time, AOL Joins TV Networks in Skyboxes in

Philadelphia and Los Angeles 

Convention Programming to Include 24-Hour-A-Day AOL SkyboxCam,

Continuous Live Audio and Video Feeds,

Member-Only Chats with Notable Attendees

America Online today announced its plans for unprecedented gavel-to-gavel online coverage of the National Republican and Democratic Conventions this summer.

The plans include video and audio feeds of all Convention proceedings, live interviews with top newsmakers, behind-the-scenes delegate diaries, interactive polls, trivia quizzes and unique opportunities for AOL members at home to participate firsthand through live chats with delegates, elected leaders, members of the media and fellow AOL members.

"As the television networks scale back their coverage of the political conventions, we are stepping up AOL's Convention programming, offering our members new ways to engage in the political process," said Kathleen deLaski, AOL's Director of Political Programming. "Through our coverage, AOL members will become cyber-delegates to the Conventions with direct 24-hour-a-day access to newsmakers and events. More important, this medium gives our members the ability to personalize their Convention experience by quickly exploring additional resources on the issues, candidates, news coverage, and analysis."

"While providing comprehensive coverage of the Convention proceedings, we'll also allow our members to tap into the Convention excitement and events that take place backstage and out of camera view," added deLaski.

AOL will have a major presence at the Republican Convention in Philadelphia (July 31- August 3) and at the Democratic Convention in Los Angeles (August 14-17). Elements of AOL Convention programming, which will be available through AOL's News Channel and Keyword: Election 2000, include:

AOL SkyboxCam providing round-the-clock shots of the Convention Halls, beginning the day before each Convention and running until the gavel falls five days later. Members will be able to click on SkyboxCam anytime during Convention week to get shots of whatever is going on in the Hall.

Delegate Diaries giving members daily firsthand accounts from a number of Convention Delegates. The Diaries will take members behind the scenes into the daily Convention activities of a Convention Delegate.

Daily Pre-Game Show featuring interviews with journalists, newsmakers and other Convention personalities as well as interactive polls, trivia quizzes and more. The show, hosted by AOL's Kathleen deLaski, will be webcast from the AOL skybox prior to each night's prime-time speeches.

Special Convention News area showcasing the latest stories from each Convention as well as schedules of events, biographies on key players and Convention rules.

Live Event Coverage providing users with quick links to additional information about the speakers, candidates, and newsmakers to enhance the online Convention experience. AOL also will provide updates from around the Hall during breaks in the prime-time speeches.

Streaming Video and Audio through AOL Plus for members connecting to AOL 5.0 over high-speed connections, enabling them to view the Convention proceedings in full-motion video and enjoy broadband-enhanced Convention programming.

Since 1996, AOL has pioneered online political coverage that allows members to take control of the political process by cutting through the sound bites to access issue positions and connect with candidates directly.

America Online's Campaign 2000 coverage includes a full range of resources to provide voters with in-depth information on local and national candidates, an interactive tool to help voters find the candidate whose views are closest to their own, and comprehensive election coverage. Presidential candidates Texas Governor George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore each conducted live chats with AOL members during this year's primary campaign.

In early 1999, AOL introduced My Government, enabling interactive users to identify their elected officials simply by typing in their zip code, send e-mails to their representatives, track how Congress voted on key issues and learn more about upcoming issues.

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: America Online, with more than 22 million members, and CompuServe, with more than 2.7 million members, the company's two worldwide Internet services; 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; AOL Moviefone, the nation's No.1 movie listing guide and ticketing service; and Spinner.com and NullSoft's Winamp, leaders in Internet music.

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.