New MeetingPlace Web 3.0 Ends ''Who's That?'' in Virtual Meetings.

Business Editors/High-Tech Writers

SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--April 22, 2002

Next Generation in Integrated Voice and Web

Conferencing Identifies Speaker in Real Time, Shows Attendees,

Controls Breakout Sessions and More

Latitude Communications Inc. (Nasdaq:LATD), the leading provider of secure, integrated voice and web conferencing solutions, today announced the availability of MeetingPlace Web 3.0. The most tightly integrated voice and web conferencing technology available, it enables people to collaborate in virtual meetings as naturally as they would in person.

"The meteoric rise in web conferencing shows that the virtual workplace is surpassing physical locations for conducting business," said Simon Hayward, research director for Gartner. "However, the quantity of solutions used for collaboration tends to muddy the IT infrastructure. So, it's imperative that conferencing solutions integrate with existing infrastructure without the need for more applications. For staying power, virtual meeting solutions need to provide an experience as natural as an in-person meeting, enabling users to identify speakers, pass notes, step out for a private conversation, and other desirable aspects of traditional meetings."

Unlike other web conferencing solutions, MeetingPlace Web 3.0 allows attendees to see who is speaking, a capability that is critical for interactive decision-making among participants who don't always know each other. MeetingPlace Web 3.0 provides participants with the ability to engage in "in-person" behaviors, so that at any moment, in addition to knowing who is speaking, they can "pass notes," control speaking privileges, "step out" to breakout sessions, record meetings, share applications or show slides.

MeetingPlace, an on-premises conferencing platform, is also offered as a dedicated hosted service, and as a feature-rich shared service, available for purchase online (See today's related announcement about MeetingPlace.Net). The technology sets the standard for web conferencing security by preventing unwanted attendees from accessing confidential meetings and content. As a dedicated solution, MeetingPlace offers advanced security and diverse deployment options to fit enterprise security requirements. The technology enables a company to hold internal meetings completely isolated from Internet access, while providing the flexibility to conduct public meetings accessible on the Internet.

"We like the new features in MeetingPlace Web 3.0," said Anu Karwa, of Talaris Corporation, a leading developer of web based services solutions. "We believe features like being able to see who's speaking and the ability to share documents on an impromptu basis are important for productivity."

Businesses can streamline scheduling, rescheduling, attending, and inviting participants to virtual meetings using a single MeetingPlace interface to voice and web conferencing -- whether a web browser, Lotus Notes or Microsoft Outlook. People behind firewalls or proxy servers, or with slower connections, can effectively use MeetingPlace through its connection speed detection and firewall-friendly technology. Via the solution's rich web conferencing tools, participants can view and discuss any Web site, application, document or presentation in real time, and pass control and make changes on the fly. In addition, chat and polling options afford private communication and group feedback.

"To maximize productivity, business people need to engage in real-time collaboration that is convenient and feels familiar," said Emil Wang, Latitude's chief executive officer. "MeetingPlace Web 3.0 helps companies combine the natural aspects of traditional meetings with the advanced, efficient features of real-time application and document sharing. That way, their employees can communicate easily and at peak efficiency -- without the downtime and travel costs of in-person meetings."

Many of the tightly integrated voice and web innovations of MeetingPlace Web 3.0 are based on the patent awarded to Latitude -- for a graphical computer interface for an audio conferencing system -- that makes such capabilities as "Who's Speaking" and "Who's Attending" possible.

About MeetingPlace

MeetingPlace, the leading integrated, secure voice and web conferencing solution, helps organizations to work better through real-time collaboration. MeetingPlace integrates with standard communications infrastructures enabling people to share and edit live documents to work together productively from any location. The result: Faster sales, reduced costs and improved communications. To simplify meeting scheduling, MeetingPlace integrates with standard groupware applications such as Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes. MeetingPlace, available as a hosted service or on-premises conferencing platform, is provided by Latitude Communications (Nasdaq:LATD). For more information, visit at www.meetingplace.net or call 800/999-7440.

About Latitude Communications

Latitude Communications, Inc. (Nasdaq:LATD) is the leader in providing secure voice and web conferencing solutions. Companies such as Aetna, Agilent, AOL/Time Warner, Charles Schwab, Cisco, Deloitte & Touche, Hewlett-Packard and Merrill Lynch are using MeetingPlace to collaborate in real-time to speed corporate decision-making. Based in Santa Clara, California, Latitude has direct sales and support offices or distribution partners in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and India. For information, visit www.latitude.com or call 800/999-7440.

MeetingPlace is a registered trademark of Latitude Communications Inc. All other product and company names are trademarks of their respective holders.