Conversis Offers Free Consultancy Service to Mark the Launch of New .eu Top Level Domain; Experts Will Offer Advice and Guidance for Companies Looking to Make the Most of Europe's Answer to '.com'.

OXFORD, England -- Conversis, one of the world's leading providers of globalization, internationalization, localization and translation services, has today launched a Web consultancy service, free of charge until March 1, 2006, to coincide with the recent launch of the .eu top level domain. The offer is geared towards companies that want to use the Internet to strengthen their European presence.

The new .eu top-level domain is expected to appeal to companies that promote (or plan to promote) their products and services across Europe. In the past, European companies were limited to domain suffixes that were specific to each country, such as ".fr" for France, or a global domain such as ".com".

Now companies can use the .eu domain to maintain a more country-neutral address, in order to target multiple countries across Europe, without maintaining individual language sites. For companies developing new business strategies, or those with limited resources, this affords a more cost-effective way of reaching a very broad audience quickly and easily.

"Conversis sees this offer of free consultancy as an opportunity to offer guidance to any companies that are currently looking to expand their services into Europe," said Gary Muddyman, CEO and managing director. "By offering this consultancy service free of charge, Conversis can help companies to re-evaluate their Internet strategy following the launch of the .eu domain, in order to ensure that their Web sites appeal to the broadest audience possible."

In order to prevent cybersquatting (people registering trademarks and brands belonging to other people) a four-month 'sunrise period' is currently in effect, whereby only European-based public bodies and holders of registered names and trademarks will be allowed to register. After this period, addresses will be given out on a first-come first-served basis.

At that time, major corporations that are currently using the ".com" domain will then be able to register the .eu domain in order to strengthen their presence as pan-European businesses. The latest estimates from Internet World Stats reveal that over 220 million Europeans are current users of the Internet, which accounts for almost 50 percent of the population.

According to Conversis, localizing company Web sites - in order to satisfy both language and cultural requirements - can be one of the most powerful ways for companies to market their products on a global scale. As specialists in language translation and localisation, Conversis' consultancy services enable company Web sites to meet any country's language, business and cultural standards.

"The .eu domain could be as important for European companies as .com has been for companies in the United States," said Muddyman. "As a result, this 'sunrise period' is an ideal time for companies to consider this new domain as part of their 2006 Web strategy, and to establish and localize a Web site that will appeal to a broad European audience."

About Conversis

Founded in 2003 and based in the United Kingdom, Conversis is a leading provider of Globalization, Internationalization, Localization and Translation (GILT) services, tailoring business needs to each company's relevant markets worldwide. Serving clients in more than 30 markets worldwide, Conversis is dedicated to advancing the understanding and use of GILT as a strategic business tool. More information can be found at www.conversisglobal.com.