Genealogy.com Adds 98 Million Names Online with Popular World Family Tree Collection

Set of Connected Family Trees Provides Access to Millions of User-contributed Names Via the Web for 90 Percent Savings Over Cost of Component CDs

February 29, 2000 (FREMONT, CALIFORNIA) — Genealogy.com, LLC today announced the online availability of its World Family Tree collection in conjunction with the release of the collection's 50th volume. Availabe at www.genealogy.com, the World Family Tree collection is among the most popular of the company's databases, and contains over 143 thousand user - contributed family trees for a total of 98 million individual names. Contributed by individual researchers around the world, these family trees make up Volumes 1-50 of the World Family Tree. An annual online subsrciption to these 50 volumes costs $199.99— a 90 percent savings from the $2,000 price for the entire collection on CD format.

User-Inspired Collection

In response to customer requests, Genealogy.com introduced the first World Family Tree in 1995 as a way for genealogists to share their research with others. All World Family Trees are contributed by genealogy enthusiasts who want to preserve their research and share information. Privacy of living individuals within the trees is protected by shielding all information, with the exception of name and line-of-relation to others within the same tree. Because the World Family Tree collection is made up of family trees that illustrate relationships between immediate and extended family members, researchers who find an ancestor within the World Family Tree collection will gain instant access to entire branches of undiscovered relatives and ancestors. Since its initial launch, thousands of researchers have met long-lost family members as a result of the World Family Tree.

"Our objective is to significantly expand our ever-growing online community of family history enthusiasts," said Genealogy.com Chief Executive Officer, Rob Armstrong. "The launch of our 50th World Family Tree volume prompted us to make this in-demand collection available online, which in turn allows us to help our users continue to more efficiently and more economically conduct their research and make family connections."

Nine-Day Subscriptions Also Available

In additon to the annual subscriptioin to the online World Family Tree, Genealogy.com will also offer a nine-day subscription to any individual World Family Tree volume for $19.95. If during the nine-day subscription the user decides to purchase the CD-ROM version of that volume, the original $19.95 subscription can be used toward the $39.99 cost of the CD.

System Requirements and Availability

Access to the World Family Tree online requires a computer with at least 12mb of hard disk space, a modem or network connection, Internet service and either Version 3.02 or higher of Family Tree Maker (for Windows or Macintosh), or the free Family Archive Viewer, Version 3.02. The World Family Tree an be accessed online at www.genealogy.com.

About Genealogy.com, LLC

Genealogy.com, LLC was launched with $37.5 million in funding from major media corporations in November 1999. Genealogy.com, which previously operated under the corporate umbrella of Broderbund Software, is acknowledged as a decade-long leader in the genealogy technology space. The company is based in Fremont, California, and has approximately 90 employees. Information on Genealogy.com and its services and resources can be found at www.Genealogy.com. All of its award-winning products and services are offered online and through direct sales; its software programs are also distributed at retail by the Broderbund Software unit of Mattel Interactive.

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