Audible.com Adds Penton Overseas Language Learning Programs.

Business & Education Editors

WAYNE, N.J.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 9, 2001

Spanish, French, German, Italian, Japanese, and Russian Programs

for Multiple Study Levels Are Available in Downloadable e-Audio

for On the Go Learning - 16 More Languages to Follow

Audible, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADBL) today launched the Penton Overseas, Inc. Learn In Your Car (R) foreign language series, which is now available for download or streaming at www.audible.com(R). Audible is the leading provider of Internet-delivered spoken audio for computer-based listening or mobile playback on AudibleReady(TM) PC-based portable digital audio players.

The Penton Overseas best selling Learn In Your Car foreign language series is designed to teach pronunciation, vocabulary and grammar in individualized lessons with three levels of graduated proficiency.

"We are indeed pleased to have our foreign language programs of VocabuLearn(R) and Learn In Your Car being made available to language students from audible.com by their unique audio download system," said Hugh V. Penton, president of Penton Overseas, Inc. "This is certainly a major step in making these highly popular language programs more available to customers around the world. As more and more people become aware of the great benefits of foreign language learning, we hope that this new medium, which has been pioneered by Audible, will greatly enhance their learning experience."

In addition to the currently available Learn In Your Car series, Audible will also be adding Penton's English as a Second Language (ESL) programs for Spanish, French and German speakers, as well as the VocabuLearn series in multiple languages. The VocabuLearn languages are: Arabic, Armenian, Chinese, Danish, Dutch, Greek, Hebrew, Korean, Polish, Portuguese, Swahili, Swedish, Tagalog, Ukrainian and Vietnamese. All of the additional language learning programs from Penton Overseas will be introduced in time for the summer travel and vacation season.

"We are extremely pleased to present the Penton Overseas language series at audible.com for our customers who are life-long learners and frequent travelers," said Beth Anderson, vice president and publisher of audible.com. "In addition to our English-speaking customers who want to learn a new language or brush up on rusty skills, we have a growing customer base of non-native English speakers who listen to programs from audible.com as a means of improving their English language proficiency. Penton's fine collection of foreign language and ESL courses will be useful to both groups of customers."

All audio programs at audible.com can be quickly transferred from a PC to any AudibleReady(TM) portable digital audio player. Current portable listening options include the Diamond Rio 500, any of the Pocket PCs manufactured by Casio, Compaq and Hewlett-Packard or the Digisette Duo-Aria, a digital audio player that operates as a stand-alone device or can playback using virtually any standard audiocassette tape player.

All Penton Overseas language-learning programs are available for purchase ($9.95 per program) at www.audible.com and from Amazon.com's Audio Download section.

Learn In Your Car has been one of the most popular Penton Overseas programs ever developed for learning foreign languages. It has a unique ability to teach grammar simultaneously with vocabulary and pronunciation. Special Learn In Your Car programs have been developed for Spanish, French and German speakers to learn English and English grammar.

VocabuLearn was developed by Penton Overseas as a language program to teach vocabulary and short, everyday expressions in more than 22 foreign languages. This program has proven so popular that it has been developed into three levels of study in many of the languages, and over one million audiocassette and CD copies have been sold worldwide. More than 1,500 words and expressions are included in each program.

About Audible, Inc.:

Audible(R) (www.audible.com(R)) is the Internet's largest, most diverse provider of premium spoken audio services for content download or playback on personal computers or AudibleReady(TM) PC-based mobile devices. Audible has more than 28,000 hours of audio programs and 160 content partners that include leading audiobook publishers, broadcasters, magazine and newspaper publishers and business information providers. Audible.com is Amazon.com's (www.amazon.com) exclusive provider of spoken word products for downloading or streaming via the Web. Additionally, the Company is strategically aligned with Random House, Inc., to pioneer the first-ever imprint to produce spoken word content specifically suited for digital distribution, Random House Audible. Among the Company's key business partners are Casio Inc., Compaq Computer Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, Royal Philips Electronics, RealNetworks, Inc., SONICblue Incorporated's Rio Audio Group, Texas Instruments and VoiceAge Corp.

Audible and www.audible.com are registered trademarks of Audible, Inc.; AudibleReady is a trademark of Audible, Inc. and all are part of the family of Audible, Inc. trademarks.

This press release contains information about Audible, Inc. that is not historical fact and may be deemed to contain forward-looking statements about the company. Actual results may differ materially from those anticipated in any forward-looking statements as a result of certain risks and uncertainties, including, without limitation, Audible's limited operating history, history of losses, uncertain market for its services, and its inability to license or produce compelling audio content and other risks and uncertainties detailed in the company's Securities and Exchange Commission filings.