Critical Path Delivers On Commitment to Japanese Market Through Formation of a New Company With Japanese Leaders Mitsui & Co., Ltd., and NTT Communications Corporation.

Business Editors

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 18, 2000

Newly Formed Venture to Provide Advanced Internet Messaging Solutions

to the Rapidly Emerging Japanese Internet Market

Critical Path, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPTH), a leading provider of business-to-business Internet messaging and collaboration solutions, today announced plans to establish a joint venture with Mitsui & Co., Ltd., one of Japan's largest Sogo Shosha, or general trading companies, and NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com), the leading long distance international telecommunications arm of NTT Group, to deliver advanced Internet messaging services to Japanese businesses. Through this joint venture, Critical Path, Mitsui & Co., and NTT Com will form a new company that will be based in Tokyo, Japan.

In this newly established venture, Tokyo-based Mitsui & Co. will leverage its extensive partnerships in Japan and throughout Asia and will be a reseller of the new company's advanced Internet based, in-language messaging services to Asian businesses. As Japan's leading long distance international telecommunications arm of NTT Group, NTT Com will host Critical Path's advanced Internet messaging services in its Data Centers and provide the technical backbone required to bring scalable and reliable Internet services to the Japanese market. Already a number of customers including Nikkei, e-Carnet and Fujitsu Parex, have signed up for this new service.

"The formation of this new company will enable Critical Path to leverage the tremendous relationships and reach of Mitsui & Co. and NTT Com in Japan as well as throughout the rest of Asia," said Doug Hickey, president and CEO, Critical Path. "Our joint venture with these prominent leaders validates Critical Path's commitment to provide the most reliable, secure and advanced Internet messaging solutions to the exploding Asian market. With our advanced messaging solutions, Critical Path is uniquely positioned to take advantage of this rapidly growing market. "

"By partnering with leading companies Mitsui and NTT Com, Critical Path will be able to offer users in Asia the benefits of its advanced Internet messaging solutions," said Mark Levitt, research director, International Data Corporation.

Internet acceptance and use in Japan is developing at a rapid pace. Some 16.7 million Japanese currently access the Internet with regularity and that number is expected to rise to approximately 18.5 million by year-end. According to a recent survey conducted by Access Media International in conjunction with the Internet Association of Japan, Internet usage in Japan grew by 50% in the past year. Further, Web traffic in Japan rose by 240 percent in the past year according to US World & News Report and shows no signs of abating.

"This new venture will allow us to offer our extensive customer base in Japan and throughout Asia the most advanced Internet messaging solutions available," said Andrew Van Etten, Senior Director of Strategic Business Development, Electronics & Information Business Division of Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc. "The collective power and reach of Mitsui, NTT Com and Critical Path, positions this new company at the forefront of the rapidly emerging Asian market."

"Through this new company, customers will have access to the most secure and reliable advanced Internet messaging services in Asia," said Masayuki Nakagawa, Executive Manager of Sales and Marketing, Department II Solution Business Division of NTT Communications.

About Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

Mitsui & Co., Ltd., is one of the oldest and largest of the Sogo Shosha, the international trading companies, with over 300 years of business presence in the world, and total trade transactions of US$131.7 billion in fiscal 1998. The company is taking up a leading role in Japan's fast development of Information Technology and communications systems business, including the establishment of AOL Japan.

About Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc.

Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc. is the largest wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., and a leading world trading house operating for 120 years in the U.S. With 14 offices and nearly 100 consolidated subsidiaries and joint ventures across the country, the company is attuned to cultivate strategic business and project development, now and tomorrow.

About NTT Communications

NTT Communications Corporation (NTT Com) is the leading long distance international telecommunications arm of NTT Group reaching over 200 countries worldwide. Headquartered in Tokyo, NTT Com's Arcstar services operate in about fifty countries and have significant presence in Asia Pacific, North America and Europe. Arcstar global services provide managed data, multimedia and Internet services to some of the largest companies in the world. NTT Com's investment in its Managed Services, IP Infrastructure and Internet Portal will meet the growing demand for electronic commerce based services from its business customers and home users. NTT Com's web site: www.ntt-c.co.jp/index-e.html

About Critical Path, Inc.

Critical Path, Inc. (Nasdaq: CPTH) is a leading provider of business-to-business Internet messaging solutions for corporations, Internet service providers (ISPs), Web hosting companies, and Web portals. Critical Path has built an industry-leading global infrastructure with data centers connected to key Internet exchange points, and currently reaches millions of end-users through its customer relationships. Critical Path provides reliable, secure, and scalable email, and a flexible suite of enhanced messaging services to partners such as E*TRADE, CompuServe, Network Solutions, U S West, Sprint, and ICQ. Critical Path is headquartered in San Francisco, California, with offices in locations nationwide and in Germany, the UK, and Argentina. More information on Critical Path can be found at www.cp.net.

Critical Path is a service mark and the Critical Path logo is a trademark of Critical Path, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective holders.

The statements in this press release relating to matters that are not historical are forward-looking statements. Actual results could differ materially from these forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties facing Critical Path are described in its prospectus dated June 1, 1999 and with its periodic filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (www.sec.gov).