Parable Partners With XOOM.com To Expand ThingSearch to Another 3.8 Million Users.

Leading Direct Selling-based Web Community is Latest

High-Traffic Web Site to Join ThingSearch Network

NEWTON, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Oct. 20, 1998--Parable, an Internet multimedia company, today announced a partnership with XOOM.com, Inc. (www.xoom.com) in which XOOM.com will host Parable's ThingSearch(tm) database (www.thingworld.com). According to Media Metrix, XOOM.com was the second fastest growing site on the Web for the first six months of 1998. ThingSearch is a service that allows for the hosting of Parable's searchable ThingWorld(tm) database of rich, interactive multimedia "Things" at other Web sites, communities and portals. With ThingSearch, XOOM.com members can now search for, use and pass along branded and general multimedia Things for their personal Web pages or other online publishing endeavors. The XOOM.com agreement expands the reach of ThingSearch to 42 million eyeballs per month.

As part of the relationship, Parable co-brands, customizes and maintains ThingWorld, the backend of XOOM.com's ThingSearch database. XOOM.com and Parable will share ad revenue from banner ads targeted to individual content areas of the ThingSearch database. In addition, XOOM.com will sell Parable's easy-to-use and highly regarded authoring tool, ThingMaker(tm), on the XOOM.com Web site. Parable will also license from XOOM.com over 10,000 animated GIFs and clip art for creating Things for ThingWorld, thus growing the number of searchable and collectible Things and further establishing ThingWorld as a one-stop multimedia content hub for Web page publishers.

By offering ThingSearch, highly-trafficked sites can expand their services by providing their publishing members with easy-to-use multimedia content from ThingWorld, Parable's multimedia showcase and distribution hub. ThingWorld boasts a searchable database of Things, the first form of multimedia that can be easily created, shared, owned and protected on the Internet, as well as tools for creating Things and using them on the desktop and other digital mediums.

"This agreement provides an opportunity for cross-fertilization of content between XOOM.com and Parable," said Eric Bedell, President and CEO of Parable. "We franchise our ThingSearch gallery of multimedia Things to XOOM.com, while XOOM.com licenses us a portion of their clip art gallery. Plus, as the ThingSearch gallery grows, XOOM.com's library of fresh content is enhanced."

Things found in the database include interactive Digital Collectibles(tm), experiences, games, characters and animations from Parable's growing list of entertainment, sports and major brand content partners. Things can be taken from the database and republished on personal homepages or collected and used directly on users' desktops with Parable's ThingCollector(tm) and ThingScreenSaver(tm). With so many ways to republish and pass them along, Things are an exciting and easy page-enriching option for personal publishers.

As Parable continues to develop partnerships with major sports and entertainment organizations, the XOOM.com-branded searchable database of Things will expand accordingly.

Technical Requirements for Things

Things are viewed using ThingViewer(tm). Things and ThingViewer are available for Window 95 and NT and leading Web browsers. Things are optimized for Pentium-based PCs and are compatible with Microsoft's Active Desktop and Channel Definition Format (CDF). ThingCollector(tm) and ThingScreenSaver(tm) can be downloaded at www.thingworld.com.

About XOOM.com, Inc.

XOOM.com, Inc. (www.xoom.com) enables Web community building by offering Web users free services, including 11MB of server space, chat rooms, message boards, HTML email, online greeting cards, Easy Page Builder and content, such as full-length streaming movies and the largest collection of Web clips on the Internet. Selling its proprietary products as well as third party products to its registered members, XOOM.com has pioneered direct-response selling on the Internet. XOOM.com currently has strategic alliances with, among other companies, Entertainment Drive; Go2Net (NASDAQ: GNET); Netopia, Inc. (NASDAQ: NTPA); OfficeDepot (NYSE: ODP); Sausage Software LTD; SimpleNet; Ulead Systems, Inc.; USA Today, a division of Gannett Co. Inc. (NYSE: GCI); Women.com; and ZDNet (NYSE: ZD). The company, which was founded in September 1996, is headquartered in San Francisco and has an advertising sales office in New York.

About Parable

Founded in August 1996, Parable provides technologies, tools, services, and a distribution network headquartered at www.thingworld.com, for managing the creation and distribution of compelling digital multimedia content (Things) both online and on the desktop.

Parable offers a growing set of multimedia content and distribution options, ranging from limited edition Digital Collectibles(tm) and broadly distributed branded content to promotions and brand extension campaigns. Within this range, a growing line-up of entertainment, sports and consumer brand companies are serving up their content broadly, selectively or exclusively to specified Web sites, including some of the most highly trafficked portals and communities on the Web. The unique locking and copyright features of Things provide these companies with solutions for securely distributing and extending their intellectual property.

ThingCollector, ThingMaker, ThingScreenSaver, ThingViewer, ThingWorld and Digital Collectibles are all registered trademarks of Parable. All other properties referenced herein are trademarks of their respective owners.