Next Generation Cities and Fujitsu Launch ``Infoforum" Web Hub; Opens Virtual Event Site to Provide Interactive Commerce Space.

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 07, 1999--

Next Generation Cities (NGCities), builders of Internet-based digital community networks, and Fujitsu(R) announced today the launch of InfoForum(TM) (http://www.infoforum.org), a community portal solution jointly developed by the two companies. The InfoForum web application is debuting with two California cities as pilot customers, and is opening today a virtual event site for the upcoming Smart City Conference. InfoForum will also be showcased at Telecom '99 in Geneva, Switzerland, later this month.

InfoForum is used by cities and local districts to provide their community members with ubiquitous access to information resources, to foster discussion and exchange of information, to promote local businesses and to stimulate local economic activity. The InfoForum web application is powered by Fujitsu's TeamWARE Pl@za(TM) technology, and includes message boards, chat, searchable document repositories, document sharing capabilities, a unique interactive business card feature, and an e-commerce application. InfoForum is the newest tool to be added to NGCities' proprietary Digital Community Network (DCN) software solutions.

The first user of InfoForum is the World Foundation for Smart Communities, producer of the annual Cities of the Future event being held in Sacramento that is now in its sixth year. The organization is offering InfoForum as a virtual meeting point to facilitate participants' interaction and preparation for the conference, as well as post-conference activities.

"Our mission is to use technology to transform the delivery of education, health care, and business and government itself in order to create economic sustainability," said John Eger, President and CEO of the World Foundation for Smart Communities. "InfoForum is being used as a virtual event site where our conference attendees can initiate discussions before and after our physical event. The application comes complete with all the technology infrastructure we need, like searchable document libraries, interactive business cards and directories, and even an e-commerce application to run our on-line book shop and article repository."

"What we've created is a ready-to-run set of tools and business routines that will enable conference attendees to work with one another within a trusted workspace before, during and after the conference," explained Jim Cushing, Chairman of Next Generation Cities. "Inside the InfoForum hub, members can form ad-hoc virtual groups to address specific topics, conduct research, and create intelligent business cards to profile their professional and personal interests and control their own privacy."

Another customer of InfoForum is the city of San Francisco's Multimedia Industry, which is developing the application as a foundation for building a Smart Community consisting of 300 leading multimedia companies located in its burgeoning multimedia gulch.

"InfoForum offers many exciting possibilities as we become an e-society in the 21st century," said George White, Program Director for the Office of Geographic Data Services within the Department of Public Works for the City and County of San Francisco. "One possibility is that InfoForum is the hub that furthers the creation of the world's first totally networked neighborhood and business community, through its integration of GIS data for area planning, emergency response services, and business directories. It has the potential to enable everything from securing business licenses to reporting crime in our neighborhoods."

About Next Generation Cities

Next Generation Cities designs, builds and operates Internet-based Digital Community Networks (DCNs) for cities and communities of the 21st century. NGC sells its proprietary DCN software solutions, and provides consulting and program management services.

Developed in partnership with private and public sectors, DCNs are aggregated community networks that become a single source of information regarding businesses, residents, schools and government agencies. DCN features include a Public Trusted DataBank(TM) for secure distribution of public data records, a Geographical Information System (GIS) to manage street excavation and other building permits, and an Intelligent Business Registry(TM) (IBR) that allows local businesses to promote their products and services. DCNs have proven to stimulate economic development for local businesses, and achieve efficiencies for municipalities. For more information, please visit http://www.ngcities.com.

About TeamWARE and Fujitsu

TeamWARE is a subsidiary company of the Fujitsu Group, and employs approximately 300 persons in Europe and operates world-side through sales and product development units located in the USA and Asia. TeamWARE Pl@za technology has been developed as a platform for virtual communities. Pl@za runs as a hosted system on an ISP server, and is easily operated through a standard web browser without any specific client software. Further information is available at http://www.teamware.com.

The Fujitsu Group - including ICL, Amdahl and DMR Consulting Group - includes over 500 companies, 188,000 employees, and operations in more than 100 countries worldwide. For further information, visit Fujitsu's web site at http://www.fujitsu.com.

InfoForum, Intelligent Business Registry and Public Trusted DataBank are trademarks of Next Generation Cities. Fujitsu is a registered trademark of Fujitsu Limited. TeamWARE and Pl@za are registered trademarks of TeamWARE Group OY, a subsidiary of Fujitsu Limited, in the US and other countries.

All other trademarks, trade names, registered trademarks, or registered trade names are property of their respective holders.