MultiMediaCard Association Approves SecureMMC Interface Specification Ver. 1.1; Large MMCA Representation At 3GSM World Congress With 25+ Member Companies Exhibiting.

SUNOL, Calif. -- The MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA) announced today that Version 1.1 of the SecureMMC Interface Specification has been unanimously approved by the association's Executive Members, opening the SecureMMC standard to the widely adopted Internet protocols and application models. The approved specification enables the deployment of next generation secure operating systems that incorporate Internet protocols, such as Java Card 3.0.

The SecureMMC Interface Specification V.1.1 supports multiple on-card applications with the capability to communicate in parallel with the host and with remote servers through Internet Protocols channels.

According to Yves Leonard, Chairman of the MMCA Board of Directors, "The new SecureMMC interface specification is the result of close cooperation among MMCA members, some of whom are demonstrating compatible card prototypes working with commercially available handsets. We expect to see widespread deployment of SecureMMC protocols and SecureMMC cards this year."

Over 25 members of the open standards MMCA will exhibit at 3GSM World Congress this week in Barcelona, Spain, demonstrating a wide range of products and applications based on MMC and SecureMMC standards. Among the exhibitors:

Beep Science (Hall 2, Stand E36), a leading provider of Digital Rights Management (DRM) software, recently joined the MMCA and will contribute to facilitate the implementation of open-industry DRM standards in SecureMMCs. Beep Science regards MMCs as an important content distribution and storage medium in mobile services, and believes the integration of DRM into SecureMMCs will provide new end-user flexibility for storing and transferring content and licenses between devices. Beep Science's DRM Agent software on MMCs will be demonstrated at 3GSM.

Gemplus (Hall 8, Stand B08-B09) will present its new product offering "dot-sim", which allows mobile operators to deploy secure, convergent and innovative multimedia services. "By combining SecureMMC and the inherent assets of the SIM (including tamper-resistance, open OS and universal support by handsets), we're able to reinforce our advances in MultiMedia SIMs, which will become the predominant personal token in converged networks," said Jean-Francois Rubon, Director Innovation & Strategy Wireless at Gemplus.

Lexar Media, Inc. (Stand J21) will demonstrate its full line of high-performance flash memory cards for use in mobile phones and other portable devices. These include Lexar MMCmobile(TM) cards which offer the same high-performance as the MMCplus universal cards at half the size, and Lexar MMCmicro(TM) cards that provide users with a super-compact solution for enjoying today's most advanced flash memory features.

Samsung Electronics (Hall 1, Stand D40a) is introducing a 1GB MMCmicro(TM) card, purported to be the fastest micro-size memory card available. The company believes the new product combining high performance and large capacity will break new grounds for multimedia content capabilities on mobile handsets.

MMCmicro cards with their combination of high speed, high capacity, small size and reduced power consumption, are expected to be popular in a new generation of cell phones, digital cameras and MP3 players.

About The MMCA (MultiMediaCard Association - www.mmca.org)

The MultiMediaCard Association (MMCA) is the open standard organization that defines the physical, functional and interface specifications of MultiMediaCards (MMCs), the postage-stamp size, removable memory cards used in mobile phone, digital imaging and portable consumer electronics applications. While removable memory cards are the primary focus, the MMCA also supports the adoption of the MMC interface standard in other embedded or removable components and subsystems, such as hard disk drives.

Founded in 1998, the MMCA provides a global forum for memory card and semiconductor component suppliers, software vendors and manufacturers of mobile electronic devices who jointly endorse and promote the worldwide adoption of MultiMediaCards and the MMC standards.

MMCA Principles:

--The organization is dedicated to open, royalty-free standards;

--These standards are established consensually, with the equal participation of MMCA members;

--Product interoperability and compliance are integral to the specifications and standards.

The MMCA mailing address is P.O. Box 303, Sunol, CA 94586; Ph: 925-417-0127; Fax: [phone]. More information is at www.mmca.org.

Company and product names mentioned may be trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders and are used for identification purpose only.