First Virtual Communications First to Demonstrate Group Conferencing for Windows XP with Interoperability for Mixed Endpoints.

Business Editors

Telecon West 2001

ANAHEIM, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 23, 2001

Click to Meet with Windows XP Demonstrated at TeleCon Expo in Anaheim

First Virtual Communications (NASDAQ: FVCX), a leading provider of integrated rich media communications solutions for IP and other networks, today became the first to publicly demonstrate multipoint group multimedia conferencing for the Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) Windows XP operating system, which will launch worldwide this Thursday, October 25.

With First Virtual's Click to Meet application software, group conferencing and rich media collaboration can be extended beyond the desktop and IP network to include conferencing endpoints over ISDN, ATM and POTS (phone) networks. Click to Meet with XP allows PC users to easily and conveniently participate in group meetings and enjoy a rich media communications experience, including data collaboration, allowing for an effective way to be productive without having to travel.

Click to Meet with the Microsoft Windows XP operating system will enable organizations to take advantage of existing infrastructure and videoconferencing equipment. Users will be able to participate in multipoint conferences using voice, video and data collaboration tools with Windows XP's new platform support for IETF standard Session Initiation Protocol (SIP), Windows Messenger, popular ISDN and IP endpoints from PictureTel (NASDAQ: PCTL) and Polycom (NASDAQ: PLCM) and other standards-based conferencing products.

"Windows XP supports a new generation of personal communications with breakthrough platform support for SIP, which is enabling new innovation for users and new opportunity for the industry," said Mark Lee, lead product manager, Windows Division of Microsoft Corp. "Multipoint support for conferencing is important for a number of organizations, and First Virtual Communications is stepping up to address that need with its Click to Meet videoconferencing and collaboration solution."

Click to Meet makes use of the SIP applications programming interface (API) support within Windows XP and can be centrally managed and deployed, with provisions for recognition, management, invitations, technology updates and security. Through the Click to Meet user interface, organizations can customize the end-user conferencing experience for extreme ease and management. Additionally, Click to Meet offers continuous presence to enhance group videoconferencing.

Windows XP -- the new standard for efficient, dependable computing -- gives users the freedom to experience the digital world by building on the momentum of the Internet and digital media with improvements that increase productivity and provide both business and home users with an easy-to-use and exciting PC experience. Windows XP puts the exciting experiences of the digital age at users' fingertips by uniting PCs, devices and services and brings the solid foundation of Windows 2000 to home PC users, enhancing reliability, security and performance.

"Not only do videoconferencing applications offer an alternative to travel, but organizations worldwide have decided to make it an important part of their business culture, for both improved productivity and enhanced forms of communications," stated Dave Bundy, chief technology officer at First Virtual Communications. "Bringing this to the desktop has never been easier than with the Windows XP Operating System. Today, no other vendor can demonstrate an offering that includes group voice, video, and data conferencing with continuous presence using mixed end-points. In many cases, organizations will have to deal with these types of heterogeneous environments."

"We continue to facilitate the use of rich media communications throughout all aspects of an organization," stated Killko Caballero, president and CEO of First Virtual Communications. "Our industry-first capabilities such as software-based continuous presence, streaming media integration with interactive media, web-based client technology, Microsoft Exchange and Outlook integration with voice, video and data over IP, and now integration into the Windows XP environment - all represent a means by which our technology is bringing rich media communications to the desktop, to the conference room and to anywhere our customer needs to be."

Click to Meet enables any company to quickly deploy rich media communications within a web-based or Microsoft Exchange and Outlook environment, with forthcoming support for Windows XP. Click to Meet provides everything needed for enterprise-wide conferencing, while maintaining a level of scalability for future growth and feature enhancements.

A technology demonstration of Click to Meet within the Windows XP environment can be seen for the first time publicly at the TeleCon Expo (www.teleconexpos.com) in Anaheim, California from Oct 23-25 at the First Virtual Communications booth No. 927. First Virtual expects to bring integrated support for the Windows XP environment to market in Q4 2001.

About First Virtual Communications

First Virtual Communications is a world leader in providing easy-to-use, integrated rich media communications solutions to enterprises, service providers and portals. By enabling interactive voice, video and data collaboration over IP-based networks, First Virtual provides cost-effective, integrated end-to-end solutions for large-scale deployments to enterprise desktops. It also enables best of breed videoconferencing solutions to be extended through ISDN and ATM networks. The company's flagship product, Click to MeetTM, provides a complete framework for delivering a new generation of video-enabled web collaboration applications that address the real-time communications needs of companies worldwide. Click to Meet can be integrated seamlessly into popular enterprise messaging and collaboration environments such as Microsoft Exchange/Outlook and instant messaging. First Virtual serves its customers through a worldwide network of resellers and partners. Additional information about First Virtual Communications can be found on the web at www.fvc.com.

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