Beyond.com to Use Microsoft Windows Media Technologies to Stream Demonstrations of Leading Software Titles.

SUNNYVALE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 20, 1999--

Internet software superstore Beyond.com(TM) (Nasdaq:BYND) announced today that it is using Microsoft Windows Media Technologies to provide streaming audio and video in demonstrations of top-selling software titles from the Beyond.com website located at http://www.beyond.com.

Beyond.com believes these demonstrations will help customers understand how a new software product works before they buy it, creating a better online shopping experience.

For the demonstrations, Beyond.com is supporting Microsoft's new Windows Media Technologies 4.0 because of the benefit it provides customers who buy software over the Internet. Windows Media Technologies 4.0 offers dramatic improvements in streaming audio and video quality on the Internet and in music that is available by digital download.

Beyond.com now offers streaming audio and video quality not previously possible on previews of select CD-ROM and console gaming software titles, including the new Star Wars: Episode I The Phantom Menace software game. The Phantom Menace streaming audio and video preview, along with other Star Wars software games previews, is accessible from the Beyond.com Star Wars Center located at http://beyond.com/departments/games/starwars.htm.

The previews, coupled with the Beyond.com Phantom Menace software giveaways in Hollywood and Westwood Village on May 18-19, have helped "extend the fun" of the Star Wars film and produce robust sales of the Phantom Menace game for Beyond.com. The previews are provided by STV Communications, a Santa Monica, Calif.-based provider of products and services for electronic merchandising and marketing.

"Streaming audio and video is designed to give our customers a more complete preview of a software product before they buy it," said Brian Sroub, vice-president of marketing for Beyond.com. "It is the digital equivalent of letting people test drive a car on the road. We believe that Windows Media expands what software can do, which ultimately means that people will be happier with the software they buy, the ultimate goal of Beyond.com."

Sroub said Beyond.com is committed to offering new helpful technologies through the Beyond.com website, http://www.beyond.com, as these technologies become available.

"Microsoft is excited that Beyond.com is using Windows Media Technologies to stream software title previews," said Will Poole, senior director of marketing and business development for the Streaming Media Division at Microsoft Corp. "The high quality audio and video provided by Windows Media 4.0 will enable Beyond.com to deliver a rich, compelling experience for consumers before they purchase software titles."

About Beyond.com

Beyond.com sells commercial, off-the-shelf software to the government, enterprise, corporate and consumer markets, offering its customers a better place to buy software. Visitors to the company's online store http://www.beyond.com enjoy a comprehensive selection of software backed by customer service and competitive pricing.

Approximately 48,000 software stock-keeping units (SKUs) are available for online purchase with 6,800 SKUs available for immediate, electronic delivery, including software from such major publishers as Adobe Systems Inc., IBM Corp., Lotus Development Corp., Microsoft Corp., Sun Microsystems Inc. and Symantec Corp. The company has established strategic marketing alliances with America Online Inc., @Home Network, CNET Inc., Compaq Computer Corp., Excite Inc., Microsoft Corp., Road Runner/ServiceCo, XOOM.com Inc., Yahoo! Inc. and ZDNet.

Additionally, Beyond.com offers publishers transaction processing, physical and electronic order fulfillment, customer support, site design consultation, marketing support and reporting. The company has applied for federal registration of the marks BEYOND.COM and BEYOND DOT COM. Beyond.com Corporation trades on the Nasdaq National Market under the symbol ("BYND"). More information on the company can be found in the company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC").

About STV

Founded in 1994, STV Communications is a leading provider of video previews of games, software, and home video for online and traditional retailers. The Santa Monica company's studios also offer high-end post-production, encoding and Internet hosting services. STV earned the "Best Merchandising" Award at RetailVision Spring '98. Current clients include Beyond.com(TM), Microsoft, Hastings, MediaPlay, Fry's Electronics and Staples, and software publishers Activision, Cendant Software, Electronic Arts, Dreamworks, SKG and LucasArts.

To the extent that this news release discusses Beyond.com's expectations relating to potential benefits from the efforts of Beyond.com, STV described above, including growth in the company's revenue, customer base or improvements in audio and video streaming in software, these statements are forward-looking within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and are subject to substantial risks and uncertainties. Such risks include the risk that such benefits will not realized. Actual results for the second quarter of 1999 and subsequent quarters could differ materially from any future performance suggested above. Among the factors that could negatively affect subsequent periods include: Reductions in or cancellations of customer orders, changes in relationships with software suppliers, changes in relationships with strategic partners, changes in the product mix sold by the company, competition from other online software resellers or publishers, inability to raise sufficient capital on satisfactory terms, or at all, and other factors described in the company's filings with the SEC. Beyond.com news and product/service information is available at the company's World Wide Web site located at http://www.beyond.com.