Argus Technologies announces first Internet GIS technology; MapGuide map authoring, publishing, and viewing solution is world's first interactive GIS technology for the Internet and corporate Intranets.

CALGARY, Alberta--(BUSINESS WIRE)--July 29, 1996--Argus Technologies Inc. announced the release of MapGuide; the first commercially available software solution for authoring, publishing, and viewing interactive maps and graphics over the Internet and corporate Intranets.

The MapGuide publishing solution suite includes the MapGuide Author, the MapGuide Server, and the MapGuide Viewer Plug-In software. The MapGuide Viewer Plug-In (designed for Netscape Navigator Version 2.0 or later), can be downloaded and used free of charge to access any site that employs MapGuide to publish maps and related information. The MapGuide Author and MapGuide Server can be downloaded and evaluated under the Argus Evaluation Program, free of charge for a thirty day period. All three products are available from the Argus Technologies web site at http://www.argusmap.com. The MapGuide technology is showcased at the company's new demonstration site at http://www.mapguide.com.

Users downloading the MapGuide Viewer Plug-In can immediately access totally new and seamless maps of the United States, Canada, and the World on-line at Argus's new demo site. Argus has teamed with leading cartographic and demographic data providers Business Location Research, Urban Decision Systems, American Digital Cartography Inc., and Compusearch Micromarketing Data and Systems to populate the new demo site with the most up to date and accurate maps and data available.

MapGuide provides publishers and users of geographic information with the first solution in the world for authoring and publishing vector based geographic data using the Internet as a publishing medium. With the free MapGuide Viewer, government, utilities, telecommunications companies, municipalities, and many other organizations can distribute detailed geographically rich maps combined with associated data to any number of interested parties in their office, city and around the world.

"The MapGuide Viewer Plug-In is the most significant new plug-in technology for Netscape yet delivered", says Rod Munro, President of Argus Technologies. "There is currently a huge level of interest on the web for maps and geographic information. But, current Internet map technology offers only static GIF and JPEG images that don't offer the end-user any level of interaction. And, existing map sites offer only "canned" maps, very similar to each other in scope and content. The free MapGuide Viewer Plug-In gives the user interactive control of published map information, adds high quality printed output, and allows the user to interrogate and interact with the maps by clicking on web- sites or points of interest to link to those sites, or selecting objects of interest on the map and retrieving detailed reports related to them."

"The MapGuide Author provides an even greater level of user interaction. Publishers and companies distributing maps can choose to allow end-users to author their own maps on-line, from anywhere in the world. This kind of capability has never before been available to the GIS (Geographic Information Systems) and Mapping communities, and it promises to change the way that both casual users and professionals think about and use maps."

"MapGuide is going to stimulate a whole new wave of interesting and dynamic content on the web", continues Munro. "The diversity of our first three beta partners offer excellent examples. The Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans is using MapGuide to publish detailed coastline, river, and stream maps and fish habitat information about the West Coast fishery that has been collected over a multi-year year period. The information will be accessible by both regional offices and the public.

The City of Kansas City, Mo. is using MapGuide to publish detailed street and parcel maps combined with utilities and crime statistics information to neighborhood residents and community associations.

And Global Link Associates, a leading Internet content and technology provider in Japan, is using MapGuide to build and publish detailed street and building maps of Tokyo and other major population centers directed to the consumer and traveller."

The MapGuide technology is show-cased in the Argus demonstration site at http://www.mapguide.com, where users can use the MapGuide Viewer Plug-In software to access the most complete interactive on-line map of the US ever made available to the public. The demonstration site allows users to access several maps that show the power and flexibility of the MapGuide software. In one map of the US, users can zoom down to the minor street level, viewing progressively finer levels of geography (state, county, zipcode, census tract, census block group), themed (color coded) by population density. At several levels, they can select an area of interest and retrieve a detailed census or demographic report detailing age/sex/race information about residents in the selected area.

In other maps of the World, the US, and Canada, users can interactively add their own web site, or place a billboard or classified ad on-line. When users zoom to an area containing billboards, the billboards are automatically cycled to another frame in the web page, demonstrating a passive advertising model that the MapGuide technology supports. -0-

Technical Notes: The MapGuide Author, MapGuide Server, and MapGuide Viewer products allow the creation, management, publishing, and viewing over the Internet of intelligent vector-based maps in an integrated and standards conforming environment with existing HTML browsers and servers. The MapGuide Viewer Plug-In Version 2.0 supports open connectivity to MapGuide Servers for customers using a Netscape browser Version 2.0 or higher. Versions for Microsoft Windows Version 3.1, Windows 95, and Windows NT are available today. Support for Microsoft Explorer and the Apple MacIntosh is planned for later this summer. MapGuide Server supports Windows NT Advanced Server and is available for both Intel and DEC Alpha platforms using Netscape's Communications or Commerce Server, or O'Reilly's Website Server. MapGuide Author supports Windows 95 and Windows NT and is available for Intel platforms.

Argus Technologies Inc. is headquartered at 2800, 645-7 Avenue SW, Calgary, Alberta, T2P 4G8, Canada Telephone: [phone], Fax: [phone], email:[e-mail]. MapGuide, MapGuide Server, MapGuide Author, and MapGuide Viewer are all trademarks of Argus Technologies Inc.

Argus Technologies Inc. is a leading provider of geographic information systems and innovative spatial technologies to multiple industries.

CONTACT: Rod Munro

Argus Technologies Inc., 403/294-0090

Email: [e-mail]