Microsoft Office Outlook Live: Outlook Lights Up With MSN Hotmail

Microsoft Office Outlook Live: Outlook Lights Up With MSN Hotmail New Subscription Service Helps Customers Efficiently Manage Their Lives REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 20 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) today announced the availability of Microsoft(R) Office Outlook(R) Live, a new subscription offering that brings together the power of Microsoft Office Outlook with MSN(R) Hotmail(R) in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada (English and French). (Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO ) Outlook Live connects MSN Hotmail, the world's largest free Web-based e-mail service with 187 million accounts worldwide, with the advanced e-mail tools of Microsoft Office Outlook, providing customers with a way to more efficiently manage their lives. This is the first Microsoft Office product to be made available as a downloadable subscription service. With Outlook Live, customers can now view and manage all their personal information -- e-mail accounts, contacts and calendars -- in one convenient place, from virtually anywhere. With an Outlook Live subscription customers will receive the latest version of Microsoft Office Outlook 2003 for Subscription Services, plus 2 GB of online storage, the ability to send 20MB attachments, and advanced spam and virus protection -- all for an introductory price of $44.95(1) until April 19, 2005 (regularly priced at $59.95 per year). "Outlook Live is the most advanced consumer e-mail service available from Microsoft and is perfect for individuals who really want to get the most out of their e-mail," said Blake Irving, corporate vice president for the MSN Communication Services and Member Platform Group at Microsoft. "MSN is committed to delivering a range of free and subscription e-mail services to meet customer needs, and Outlook Live is the perfect addition to our portfolio. We're thrilled to offer the service to our customers." "By collaborating with MSN, we've been able to create a great service for our collective customers with a true eye on consumer needs," said Chris Capossela, corporate vice president for the Information Worker Product Management Group at Microsoft. "Outlook Live brings the best of two worlds together, making it easier than ever for customers to enjoy the benefits of Microsoft Office Outlook to manage their busy lives." Organization Made Easy As the lines between work and home blur and consumers' lives continue to be complex, people are looking for ways to organize their lives and simplify their communications. Outlook Live helps customers accomplish that by locating all important information together in one place. With 2 GB of online storage and virtually unlimited offline storage (depending on their disk space), customers can save all they need -- including photos, files and important messages -- using the advanced tools in Outlook. Other features that help maximize a customer's e-mail experience include these: -- Staying organized and efficient. Using Microsoft Office Outlook, customers can access, send and receive e-mail messages from multiple e-mail accounts(2) and manage different calendars and sets of contacts, such as work and personal. The powerful Outlook organization features make it easy to search and organize messages across accounts by grouping them by date, size, conversation, subject, importance or other criteria. Customers also can schedule meetings, keep track of their calendar or even share calendars with other Hotmail or MSN e-mail subscribers, viewing them side-by-side on a single screen. -- Staying in sync any time, anywhere. With Outlook Live, any updates made -- from deleting messages and adding a new contact to scheduling a meeting or creating a new task -- using Outlook are automatically synchronized and reflected in customers' MSN Mail or MSN Hotmail accounts when they are online. Even changes made or e-mail messages composed while working offline are captured and completed when the customer signs back online, so they never have to worry about staying up to date. Best of all, customers can access this information virtually anywhere from http://www.hotmail.com/ . -- Staying protected. With Outlook Live, customers are more protected with automatically updated e-mail anti-virus software, which scans for and helps eliminate harmful viruses before they reach the computer. In addition, improved and regularly updated junk e-mail filters in Outlook 2003 and MSN Hotmail, built on patented Microsoft SmartScreen(TM) Technology, help reduce unwanted spam e-mail. Customers even can set up automatic blocking of up to 500 addresses or domains and enjoy a graphical ad-free e-mail experience. More information about Microsoft Office Outlook Live can be found at http://outlooklive.msn.com/ . About MSN MSN attracts more than 360 million unique users worldwide per month. With localized versions available globally in 40 markets and 20 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering Web services to customers and online advertising opportunities to businesses worldwide. The most useful and innovative online service today, MSN brings consumers everything they need from the Web to make the most of their time online. MSN is located on the Web at http://www.msn.com/ . MSN worldwide sites are located at http://www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx . About Microsoft Founded in 1975, Microsoft is the worldwide leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize their full potential. 1. Promotional offers only available to new subscribers. After the promotional period, the then-current price for your Outlook Services plan will be automatically charged to your credit card until you cancel your account or select an alternative plan. You must agree to the Microsoft Outlook Services for MSN Subscription Agreement to access the service. Prices subject to change. A major credit card is required. Internet access service not provided. Outlook Services details: For users of Windows(R) 2000 SP3 or later operating systems only. 2. Some e-mail providers may not provide the capability to access e-mail through Outlook Live, or may charge a fee for doing so. NOTE: Microsoft, Outlook, MSN, Hotmail, SmartScreen and Windows are either registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners. Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000822/MSFTLOGO AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/ PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com Source: Microsoft Corp. CONTACT: Rhian Rotz, +1-503-443-7000, or rhianr@wagged.com, or Rapid Response Team, +1-503-443-7070, or rrt@wagged.com, both of Waggener Edstrom, for Microsoft Corp. Web site: http://www.microsoft.com/ NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in viewing additional information on Microsoft, please visit the Microsoft Web page at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass on Microsoft's corporate information pages. Web links, telephone numbers and titles were correct at time of publication, but may since have changed. For additional assistance, journalists and analysts may contact Microsoft's Rapid Response Team or other appropriate contacts listed at http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/contactpr.asp ------- Profile: International Entertainment