America Online and Stamps.com Announce Distribution and Marketing Agreement for Innovative Postage Service Across AOL Brands.

DULLES, Va. & SANTA MONICA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec. 17, 1998--

Stamps.com Free Internet Postage Download to be Available

Across AOL, CompuServe, AOL.COM, AOL's Digital City

Stamps.com to Offer Free Software, Discounts and

Promotions to AOL Members and Web-Based Visitors

America Online, Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, and Stamps.com, the innovator of Postage Server(TM) technology to deliver postage over the Internet, Thursday announced a distribution and marketing alliance that will make Stamps.com Internet Postage services available across several AOL brands in early 1999.

As part of the agreement, AOL members and Web-based visitors will receive exclusive Member Perks packages, including free postage and postage supplies.

Under the agreement, Stamps.com, formerly known as StampMaster, Inc., will offer AOL and CompuServe members, as well as visitors to AOL.COM and Digital City, free, highly secure postage software to enable AOL's millions of members and Web-based visitors to print a new form of postage directly onto envelopes, labels and business documents using ordinary laser or inkjet printers.

More cost-effective and convenient than stamps or traditional postage meters, Stamps.com's Internet Postage service will give small business, home and corporate users the ability to generate professional- looking first class, priority and express mail twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week.

Stamps.com will be prominently featured in the online Postage Services Center anticipated to launch early next year, and will also be featured in the Software Download area of the AOL Computing Channel.

As part of the agreement, Stamps.com will sponsor an online educational area on AOL to inform interested AOL members and users about Internet Postage and U.S. Postal Service rules regarding its use. As one part of the distribution agreement, Stamps.com installation CDs will also be bundled and mailed, free of charge, with purchases made by AOL members in the AOL Store.

Stamps.com is currently approved by the U.S. Postal Service for Beta and market testing, and expects approval from the USPS for a national rollout in the first half of 1999. Currently, Stamps.com provides the only downloadable Internet Postage solution approved by the USPS for market testing, and does not require installation of a hardware device on each PC to achieve the acceptable level of security.

"Stamps.com provides a convenient and valuable alternative to traditional postage," said Bob Pittman, AOL's President and COO. "We think Stamps.com will be a terrific resource for our business- oriented members and visitors."

"We're excited to be able to offer some unique programs for AOL users," said John M. Payne, Stamps.com President and CEO. "Because our Postage Server(TM) architecture requires no hardware on the user's PC, we can provide a high value Internet Postage package at very low costs to AOL members and visitors."

About the U.S.P.S. Information Based Indicia Program

The Information Based Indicia Program (IBIP) is a regulated, multi-vendor program operated by the US Postal Service. All IBIP product offerings and distribution channels require submission and approval under the IBI Program, which operates within the USPS office of Metering Technology Management to assure the highest levels of security and operational integrity for all IBI systems.

Computer users interested in participating in the Stamps.com Beta test in San Francisco and Washington, D.C. surrounding areas should visit the company's Website (http://www.stamps.com ). For more information on the IBI program, please the visit the USPS Web site at http://www.usps.gov/ibip.

About AOL

America Online, Inc., based in Dulles, Virginia, is the world's leader in branded interactive services and content. America Online, Inc. operates two worldwide Internet online services: America Online, with more than 14 million members; and CompuServe, with approximately 2 million members. America Online, Inc. also operates AOL Studios, a leading builder of Internet brands for new market segments.

Other branded Internet services operated by America Online, Inc. include AOL.COM, the world's most accessed Web site from home; Digital City, Inc., the No. 1 branded local content network and community guide on AOL and the Internet; AOL NetFind, AOL's comprehensive guide to the Internet; AOL Instant Messenger, an instant messaging tool available on both AOL and the Internet; and ICQ, an instant communication and chat technology on the Internet.

About Stamps.com

Stamps.com is a leading provider of highly secure transaction-oriented Internet services for consumer, small business and corporate users. The company was founded in 1996 with the mission of using the power of the digital age to streamline the way consumers and businesses purchase and apply postage. Stamps.com is located at 2900 31st Street, Ste. 150, Santa Monica, CA, 90405, tel [phone], fax [phone] and http://www.stamps.com.

The company is privately held and funded through venture capital investments from Enterprise Partners, Brentwood Venture Capital and Forrest, Binkley and Brown. Stamps.com and Postage Server are trademarks of Stamps.com, Inc.