Corbis Images Appeals to Burgeoning Gay and Lesbian Market; Newest Royalty Free CD First to Offer Gay and Lesbian Lifestyle Images.

SAN DIEGO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 20, 1999--

Corbis Images(R), the image licensing division of Corbis(R) (www.corbisimages.com), today unveiled its Gay & Lesbian CD title.

An industry first, this new addition to Corbis Images' royalty-free Master Collection answers the needs of advertisers and marketing executives whose products and services appeal to the burgeoning gay and lesbian market.

The gay and lesbian market is a prominent market segment that has been ignored by many advertisers. The Direct Marketing Association estimates the value of the gay and lesbian market at $540 billion annually. While the actual size of this market remains unknown, Overlooked Opinions, a Chicago-based market research firm specializing in the gay market, estimates place it as high as 18.5 million people.

With ad sales directed toward the gay and lesbian market reaching $120.4 million in Q2 1998 (Mulryan/Nash), Corbis Images' newest CD title fills a crucial niche for advertisers and marketers looking to increase sales by appealing to the emerging gay and lesbian demographic.

"We are proud to be offering this CD to creative professionals who promote products and services to an increasingly powerful group of gay and lesbian consumers," commented Steve Davis, president and CEO of Corbis.

"For too long, the gay and lesbian community has been, for the most part, ignored by mainstream marketers. Recently, however, more and more major marketers are targeting this important segment. Corbis Images is helping its customers communicate more effectively to the gay and lesbian community in their advertising and marketing materials by providing royalty-free images that appropriately reflect this lifestyle."

The CD incorporates 100 contemporary images of gays and lesbians in a wide array of social settings. From romantic dinners for two to casual walks in the country, Gay & Lesbian depicts same-sex couples, adding diversity to the world's largest image collection with unique expressions of joy, respect and affection.

Product Information, Pricing and Availability

Corbis Images' Royalty-Free Master Collection CDs are available for $299 each. Also available are Objects and Professional Collection CD titles, offered for $149 and $199, respectively. All CD titles contain 100 images in resolutions up to 300 pixels per inch at full page size and larger.

Master Collection CDs offer images in three file sizes up to 32 MB; Objects Collection CDs offer images in two file sizes up to 24 MB; and Professional Collection CDs offer images in five file sizes up to 24 MB. Images and CD titles from Corbis Images' royalty-free collection can be purchased online at www.corbisimages.com, by calling 800/545-4514, or through resellers worldwide.

About Corbis

Corbis (www.corbis.com), a privately owned company, is the leading provider of visual content and services to creative professionals and consumers through innovative digital technologies. The Corbis Collection -- more than 65 million images, with more than 2.1 million available online -- is the largest image collection in the world.

It contains the world's most significant photography and fine art from more than 1500 creative sources, including Ansel Adams, the Bettmann Archive, UPI, the National Gallery -- London, and the State Hermitage Museum, as well as leading celebrity, commercial, and news photographers. In June 1999, Corbis acquired Corbis Sygma, adding real-time news and celebrity event photography to the Corbis Collection.

Corbis Images (www.corbisimages.com) -- Corbis' image-licensing division targeting creative professionals -- is the industry's first one-stop shopping experience, providing customers with visual solutions across a wide spectrum of traditionally- licensed and royalty-free imagery.

Corbis is also the industry leader in creating innovative visual products for online consumers. Personal-Use Pictures, the Corbis Photographic Print and Poster Store, Corbis E-Cards, and other innovative online consumer products all showcase the Corbis Collection, making www.corbis.com The Place for Pictures on the Internet.

Corbis is based in Seattle, with offices in New York, London, Los Angeles, Paris, and San Diego. For more information about Corbis and its products and services, call 800/260-0444, 425/641-4505, fax [phone], or visit its Web site at www.corbis.com.

Note to Editors: Corbis and Sygma are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Corbis Corporation or Sygma in the United States and/or other countries.