FEATURE/Hi-Tech Tops Back-to-School Buys for College, Teens, Kids.

Lifestyle/Features Editors & High-Tech Industry Writers

FEATURE...

MONTEREY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE FEATURES)

Aug. 11, 2000- Catalog.City.com (www.catalogcity.com), the flagship shopping mall portal of Altura International, today announced its list of the hottest sellers in the annual Summer/Fall buying frenzy to own the trendiest back-to-school products.

The CatalogCity.com Web site features more than 600 brand name catalogs including The Sharper Image, Talbots, Neiman Marcus, Bombay, Hammacher Schlemmer, Hanover Direct, J.Jill, Hickory Farms, Ross-Simons, TravelSmith, Chef's Catalog. Consumers can also browse and request access to over 17,000 U.S. catalogs at the CatalogCity.com site.

Among household linens, bedding, kitchen appliances and other "must have" items for the dorm, it's not surprising that hi-tech products top the charts for students purchasing from the "College" Back-to-School Boutique at CatalogCity.com. To organize their busy social and academic lives, students are ordering the Motorola StarTac ClipOn Organizer from iGo ($135).

This innovative product turns a StarTac phone into a smart phone that can directly dial phone numbers, organize important information and can even interface with a PC. But protecting hi-tech toys is also important, so Everything Wireless offers the Cool Clear Palm III replacement covers for Palm Computing Organizers made by CoolColors for $39.95. And color is still key with students purchasing computer peripheral covers in high-tech aqua, lime, orange, pink, purple and teal with covers for monitors, keyboards, mice and speakers in a variety of prices from Color PC Ware.

But don't forget the entertainment! Dorm life will never be the same with Hammacher Schlemmer's "Best" Rated Micro Stereo System ($299.95). This compact yet powerful system is a mere 9H-x17 1/2 W x 6 1/4 D and easily fits on a desk, bookshelf or nightstand. Superb sound quality, construction and ease of setup/operation and features make this a must for every student's room.

And parents hoping to keep their college and high school teens organized, are purchasing the Kate Spade Personal Organizer from Neiman Marcus ($195), featured in the "Teen" Back-to-School Boutique at CatalogCity.com. Made of sleek, black nylon these organizers including charmingly illustrated, dated monthly and weekly calendars, and pages for expenses, notes, projects, to-do lists and travel logs and addresses. The Ballistic Computer Backpack by Sharper Image is also a favorite among teens and older students. It's a specifically designed backpack and is made of tough 1680-denier ballistic nylon and features nine distinct zippered areas for all on the go computing needs.

And finally, parents of young boys and girls can't escape the inevitable need for fun, colorful, trendy clothing and accessories, for even the youngest of their students. Top sellers in the "Grade School" Boutique let Girls Rule! Hot Indian Summer days will feel cool for girls wearing Twill Cropped Pants ($26.00) from Steps. These 100% cotton, 8 oz. twill mid-calf length pants have an elastic waist with drawstring and side seam panels. Girls also love the school supplies by Femail Creations, such as the Baker's Dozen of Powerful Pencils for $10 or the single pencil for $1. These shiny, silver pencils with hot pink messages such as "Girls can do Anything!" are a fun way to encourage and inspire.

And parents hoping to prepare boys and girls for the tougher classes to come, are buying "Bill Nye the Science Guy" from Turn Off the TV ($34.95). Kids are challenged to fire up the Bunsen burner and put on their thinking caps to answer questions on chemistry, physics, space, biology, anatomy or earth sciences.

About CatalogCity.com and Altura International

Founded in September 1997, and partially funded by Bill Gates, Yahoo! (Nasdaq:YHOO) and Infospace (Nasdaq:INSP), among others, CatalogCity.com is the flagship catalog shopping portal of its parent company, Altura International. Altura International is the leading architect, manager and developer of custom online shopping malls. The Altura Merchant Operating System ("AMOS"), a patent-pending proprietary technology, powers CatalogCity.com and other custom built Web shopping malls. Building on the strengths of its technology and partnerships with hundreds of top name brand merchants, Altura brings buyer and seller together, and creates a compelling value proposition for consumers.

Altura International is a privately held company and is headquartered in Monterey, Calif. More information can be found by visiting the company's Web site at www.altura.com and the flagship mall site www.catalogcity.com.