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News Release

September 21, 2000 10:56

Netkey Software Powers World's-First `Electronic E.mbassy' Kiosk Installed at Sydney Olympics

SYDNEY, Australia--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 21, 2000--The British Foreign and Commonwealth Office in Australia has added a new dimension to its ability to serve the public with the installation of the first full working prototype of a remote information kiosk - an "electronic e.mbassy" - in Sydney for the Olympic Games and beyond.

Princess Anne, the Princess Royal, was one of the first people to access the new kiosk when she visited the Counsel last week. The Princess has been in Sydney in her role as president of the British Olympic Association.

Netkey, Inc., based in Branford, Connecticut with offices in New York and San Francisco, rapidly configured the industry leading Netkey Web Kiosk Channel software to allow Olympic visitors to read current news and information from Britain, call up the latest travel advice, receive answers to frequently asked questions, conduct on-line research, and print out passport and visa forms. The Netkey kiosk software focuses the web user on Olympics information, provides the system security and transforms the web content into a format easily readable by non-computer users.

The kiosk was installed at the British Consulate-General near Circular Quay, steps away from major Olympic events and top tourist attractions such as the Opera House, the Royal Botanical Gardens, and Sydney Harbor. The unit is set in an upright mobile cabinet and uses computer touch screen technology to provide people with a range of information about the UK via the Internet and from internal caches.

"The electronic e.mbassy is an exciting development for us," Britain's Consul-General in Sydney, Peter Beckingham, said. "This is the first unit to be installed by the Foreign Office for public testing anywhere in the world. The Olympics will give us a great opportunity to assess its capabilities and its appeal to the public."

The kiosk initiative in Australia had been spurred by the need to find better ways to supply information to the 1.1 million residents who hold a British passport, the 1.6 million with a parent born in Britain, the 30,000 people issued with work visas every year, and the large number of Australians - 745,000 in 1999 - who visit the UK on an annual basis.

"The Netkey software product is performing brilliantly in this first release of the 'electronic e.mbassy,'" stated the Commission's technical administrator, Ron Green. "The remote management system allows for continuous modifications of this kiosk and others throughout Australia."

"Netkey is proud to be a part of this historic event," said Alex Richardson, chief executive officer of Netkey. "The Commission's innovative use of Netkey's patented Internet kiosk software platform provides users with fast access to Internet information when they want it and where they want it - and the kiosk never takes a break for tea."

About Netkey Inc.

Netkey Inc. (formerly Lexitech Inc.) is the leading provider of innovative end-to-end solutions for Internet kiosks. Netkey provides patented self-service e-commerce systems to a wide spectrum of industries, bridging the gap between "dotcoms" and traditional businesses by Web-empowering storefronts, bank branches, payphones, transportation centers and other public areas via Internet kiosks. Netkey delivers its hardware-independent software through its own Internet-based application service provider (ASP) site called Netkey Express (http://express.netkey.com), and through partnerships with leading systems providers.

Netkey's blue-chip list of forward-thinking customers include Yahoo!, JC Penney, Microsoft Corp., Borders Inc., Hong Kong WebPhone Network, J.C. Decaux, and Bayer Corp. Netkey investors include Zero Stage Capital and CyberStarts. The company has headquarters in Branford, Conn. and offices in San Francisco and New York. For more information about Netkey and its award-winning solutions, call 1-800-443-7924, email [email protected], or visit http://www.netkey.com.

Netkey Inc. holds U.S. Patent Nos. 5,761,071 and 6,078,848. Netkey, Lexitech and "Turn the Monitor Around" are trademarks of Netkey Inc. Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.

    CONTACT: British High Commission
             Bob Swift,
             (02)8247 2218 
                or
             The British High Commission
             Peter Fuller, Public Affairs Manager,
             (61)262 706658
             P. Fuller @ UK.emb.gov.au
                or
             Netkey, Inc.
             Penny Crump,
             203/483-2888 x276
             [email protected]
                or
             Jacobs & Prosek Public Relations
             Jennifer Whittle,
             203/378-1152
             [email protected]

    

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