First Virtual Communications, Hong Kong Education City Limited and TechCreations Keep Education Going During SARS Outbreak.Business Editors SANTA CLARA Santa Clara, city, Cuba Santa Clara (sän`tä klä`rä), city (1994 est. pop. 217,000), capital of Villa Clara prov., central Cuba. , Calif. and HONG KONG--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 15, 2003 First Virtual Communications (Nasdaq: FVCX): Hong Kong Hong Kong (hŏng kŏng), Mandarin Xianggang, special administrative region of China, formerly a British crown colony (2005 est. pop. 6,899,000), land area 422 sq mi (1,092 sq km), adjacent to Guangdong prov. Education City and TechCreations Use First Virtual's Click to Meet(TM) Web Conferencing A videoconferencing session via the Internet. In order to interact with other participants, attendees use either a Web application or an application downloaded into their client machines. Solution to Furnish Free Virtual Classrooms and e-learning to Students During School Suspension First Virtual Communications (Nasdaq: FVCX), a premier provider of rich media web conferencing and collaboration solutions, announced today that its award-winning Click to Meet Express web conferencing solution is allowing The Hong Kong Education City Limited (HKedCity), long-time provider of e-learning platform to both primary and secondary schools in Hong Kong The list of secondary schools in Hong Kong is arranged by 18 districts of Hong Kong. It includes government schools, aided schools, Direct Subsidy Scheme (DSS) schools, private schools, as well as English Schools Foundation (ESF) schools and other international schools. , to furnish free Internet classrooms and e-learning during the suspension of school due to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) Definition Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) is the first emergent and highly transmissible viral disease to appear during the twenty-first century. ). HKedCity is offering different classes for students and teachers during the month of April, including story-telling, English, Chinese, Mathematics and Mental Health sessions. "As a long-time provider of e-learning platforms to the entire Hong Kong school system, we did not want to disappoint dis·ap·point v. dis·ap·point·ed, dis·ap·point·ing, dis·ap·points v.tr. 1. To fail to satisfy the hope, desire, or expectation of. 2. the school system at this critical and unsettling un·set·tle v. un·set·tled, un·set·tling, un·set·tles v.tr. 1. To displace from a settled condition; disrupt. 2. To make uneasy; disturb. v.intr. time," stated Jacqueline Cheng, chief executive officer of HKedCity. "Click to Meet Express has risen to the occasion, permitting students in Hong Kong to continue their education remotely during the SARS outbreak. With Click to Meet Express, we are confident that students will continue learning from their new virtual classrooms with ease." She continued, "With tremendous help from TechCreations, a value-added reseller A value-added reseller (VAR) is a company that adds some feature(s) to an existing product(s), then resells it (usually to end-users) as an integrated product or complete "turn-key" solution. of First Virtual's products and experts in the Hong Kong market of IT in education, we have been able to integrate our existing system with the latest Click to Meet web conferencing capabilities, plus the customization needed to meet the requirements of the secondary and primary schools in a very short time." Hong Kong Education City is the largest education portal in Hong Kong, servicing 1,300 schools. Self learning takes place at the website for students and parents alike, while virtual classrooms have been set up for teachers to continue with current curriculum, training both parents and students during this time of national crisis. Jonathan Morgan, First Virtual's president and chief executive officer, complimented HKedCity on their preparedness for such an unpredictable situation with the SARS outbreak. He comments, "Because of HKedCity's vigilance, the continuity of teaching and learning is not jeopardized in light of an unexpected situation. Maintaining continuity through any crisis is more critical than ever. Just as companies implement disaster recovery plans, continuity planning keeps organizations running no matter where its people are located. Increasingly, web conferencing is becoming part of that continuity planning to help keep people learning, working and communicating through unfortunate events, such as natural disasters, or the recent SARS outbreak." Morgan continued, "We are thrilled that Click to Meet is helping the students of Hong Kong to continue learning during this very unsettling time. With Click to Meet's easy integration and smooth transition into an organization's workflow, we believe our customers will continue to help organizations like HKedCity to implement vital e-learning and tele-work plans." The HKedCity website is constructed such that each channel strives to integrate elements of "Information", "Resources", "Interaction" and "Services" to converge into a comprehensive one-stop education portal: -- Information - education updates, topical features on education, leisure and articles on arts and culture -- Resources - over 13,000 teaching resources, reading resources, self-learning courses and education and career resources -- Interaction - over 80 forums on various topics, creative corners for publishing literary and art works on-line, professional counseling on-line and "iWorlds" (on-line communities initiated by teachers for experience and resources sharing) -- Services - school and individual email accounts email account email n → compte m (e-)mail , web page hosting and powerful, easy-to-use on-line publishing tools Used for interactive communication on the HKedCity website, the Click to Meet Express web conferencing solution is also being used worldwide to enable dispersed groups to meet online and conduct more effective, collaborative meetings, whether for the purpose of learning, training or managing. Click to Meet Express is integrated with familiar applications like e-mail, instant messenger AOL's instant messaging service. See AIM and instant messaging. , the Web and phones, providing a simple, intuitive environment that is accessible to anyone. In addition, Click to Meet Express users have deployment, feature and flexibility advantages that are not available with other web conferencing solutions. About The Hong Kong Education City Limited Founded in May 2002, Hong Kong Education City Limited (HKECL) is a wholly owned subsidiary Wholly Owned Subsidiary A subsidiary whose parent company owns 100% of its common stock. Notes: In other words, the parent company owns the company outright and there are no minority owners. of the Education and Manpower Bureau The Education and Manpower Bureau (Traditional Chinese: 教育統籌局; Pinyin: Jiàoyùtǒngchóujú; Jyutping: gaau3 juk6 tung2 cau4 guk6; abbr. responsible for managing the Hong Kong Education City (HKedCity) website and to uphold the mission of promoting quality education and IT education in Hong Kong Education in Hong Kong has a similar system to that of the United Kingdom, in particular the English education system of Hong Kong was modernized by the British in 1861. The system can be described as extremely competitive by global standards. . HKedCity began as a large-scale education infrastructure project, co-developed by the former Education Department and the Chinese University of Hong Kong The motto of the university is "博文約禮" in Chinese, meaning "to broaden one's intellectual horizon and keep within the bounds of propriety". in 2000. The website aims to provide quality one-stop education and on-line services for the education sector. HKedCity has become the biggest education portal in Hong Kong with one million members and the number of page views a day exceeds three million. For more information, visit www.hkedcity.net. About TechCreations Company Limited TechCreations Company Limited (TechCreations) is an IT solutions provider specialized in IT in education, infrastructure and security. More information about TechCreations can be found at http://www.tech-creations.com/. About First Virtual Communications Headquartered in Santa Clara, California Santa Clara, California (IPA: /ˌsæntəˈklærə/) , founded in 1777 and incorporated in 1852, is a city in Santa Clara County, in the U.S. state of California. , First Virtual Communications is a premier provider of next generation web conferencing and collaboration solutions. It delivers award winning integrated communications solutions that address the needs of business people who need to work together remotely to collaborate, train, demonstrate or sell. The Company has helped to define IP-based communications by pushing the boundaries of conferencing for a better user experience, easier enterprise deployment and a potentially greater return on investment. The Company's products provide business quality communication by supporting a wide range of industry standards. The Company's solutions integrate seamlessly with existing tools and methodologies, such as email and web browsing, while extending the advantages of instant messaging Exchanging text messages in real time between two or more people logged into a particular instant messaging (IM) service. Instant messaging is more interactive than e-mail because messages are sent immediately, whereas e-mail messages can be queued up in a mail server for seconds or and collaboration environments, such as MSN Messenger Microsoft's instant messaging (IM) service, which provides text messaging and voice calling. Part of the MSN Network, MSN Messenger clients are available for non-XP versions of Windows, Mac, Pocket PC and MSN TV. For Windows XP, the IM client is Windows Messenger. and Microsoft Exchange Messaging and groupware software for Windows from Microsoft. Exchange Server is an Internet-compliant e-mail system that runs under Windows NT/2000 and Windows Server 2003. It can be accessed by Web browsers, the Exchange client, versions of Outlook and the earlier Windows Inbox. . The Company's innovative solutions are deployed in over 1,200 customer sites worldwide, including Fortune 500 companies, government agencies and service providers. Additional information about First Virtual Communications can be found on the Web at http://www.fvc.com. Cautionary Statement Except for the historical information contained herein, this news release contains forward-looking statements forward-looking statement A projected financial statement based on management expectations. A forward-looking statement involves risks with regard to the accuracy of assumptions underlying the projections. , including, without limitation ,statements containing the words, "believes,'' "anticipates,'' "expects'' and words of similar import. Such forward-looking statements have known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of First Virtual Communications, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, among others: the success of and timely release of Click to Meet 3.0, the continued increase in sales of the Company's Click to Meet(TM) and MCU (1) (MicroController Unit) A computer on a single chip. See microcontroller. (2) (Multipoint Control Unit) A device that is used to moderate a videoconference of three or more end points (users at computers or groups of users products, First Virtual Communications' variability of operating results, market acceptance of video and Web conferencing technology, potential inability to maintain business relationships with integrators, distributors and suppliers, rapid technological changes, competition and consolidation in the video networking industry, the importance of attracting and retaining personnel, and other risk factors referenced in First Virtual Communications' public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including the Company's report on Form 10-Q Form 10-Q See 10-Q. for the quarter ended September 30, 2002. All trademarks are recognized. |
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