LADYDRAGON.COM - MSN Direct Scores Home Run With 2004 Professional Baseball Season Content for Smart Watches

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Thursday May 13, 2004

MSN Direct Scores Home Run With 2004 Professional Baseball Season Content for Smart Watches

Major Service Expansion Includes a Triple Play of Three Additional Channels: Daily Diversions, Lottery and Horoscopes
REDMOND, Wash. — May 13, 2004 — Microsoft Corp. today added professional baseball season content for 2004 to MSN® Direct’s Sports Channel so subscribers can keep tabs on their favorite pastime while on the go.

Microsoft also added three new channels to MSN Direct that will allow subscribers to track their astrological future, discover whether those lucky lottery numbers finally have paid off, and even build their vocabulary, simply by glancing at their wrist. On top of the additional content, Microsoft is giving all yearly subscribers a special free offer of three bonus months of MSN Direct service.*

“Smart Watches are all about letting people choose exactly what they want to see on their wrists,” said Eric Lang, general manager of the Smart Personal Objects Technology (SPOT) initiative at Microsoft. “The combination of the expanded sports content with professional baseball and these new channels gives our subscribers even more information and options, and they can expect continued content enhancements and selections in the future.”

The new channels complement existing MSN Direct channels, which offer news, stocks, weather and sports information, personal messages and reminders of calendar appointments, and represent the second major expansion of the MSN Direct service since its launch in early January.

MSN Direct Puts Baseball Information on Subscribers’ Wrists

With MSN Direct’s 2004 Baseball Season, subscribers can access professional baseball scores, game previews and other content. Provided by ESPN, the content offers baseball lovers the following:

Scores. Updates each inning for games in progress*

Standings. American and National league division tables

Statistics. Wins, losses and saves for pitchers

Game information. Start times, television schedules (where available) and pregame stories

Alerts. Game-time reminders via Microsoft® Outlook® Calendar**

New MSN Direct Channels Offer More Fun

The latest additions give MSN Direct subscribers nine channels from which they can receive customized information. The new channels are these:

Daily Diversions. Provides amusing snippets of information from MSN Encarta® encyclopedia, including Born on this Day, This Day in History, Quote of the Day and Word of the Day

Lottery. Provides the latest results from state and national lotteries selected by the subscriber (available only in states that offer lotteries)

Horoscopes. Offers fun, insightful daily predictions from MSN Astrology

As with other MSN Direct content, subscribers choose the information they want to receive on their watch by visiting the MSN Direct Web site (http://www.msndirect.com/).

Thank-You and Welcome: Microsoft Offers Three Free Months of MSN Direct

As a thank-you to current subscribers and an incentive to those who haven’t yet signed up, Microsoft is offering an additional three free months of MSN Direct service to all yearly subscribers. The subscription price is $59 for a full year (with three months free)* or $9.95 a month (with the first month’s subscription free).

About MSN Direct

MSN Direct, part of the Smart Personal Objects Technology initiative, is a new, specialized wireless service that combines technology and fashion to deliver customized and personalized information to people. Those interested in learning more about MSN Direct can visit http://www.msndirect.com/.