Intranets.com and Hikari Tsushin, Inc. Bring Free Intranet Solutions to Japanese Businesses

BOSTON and TOKYO (February 28, 2000) - Less than two months after announcing their joint venture plans, Intranets.com and Hikari Tsushin, Inc. today introduced the first, free intranet solution to more than five million small businesses in Japan.

Intranets.co.jp offers similar communication and collaboration tools as the U.S.-developed version by Intranets.com (www.intranets.com), but with localized Japanese content, support and services. Intranets.com, an idealab! venture, provides small businesses and groups with free hosting, custom URLs, document sharing, calendar scheduling, vendor services and more. Since launching in the U.S., more than 125,000 organizations have registered for the free communication tools.

Intranets.com and Hikari Tsushin, the leading distributor of mobile phones and Internet services in Japan, announced the debut of Intranets.co.jp at a joint press conference today in Tokyo, attended by over 50 press members and two television stations. The first, free Japanese intranets will be available online and promoted through traditional business partners and online media in Japan. Hikari Tsushin led Intranets.com's $20 million second round of venture capital funding in December.

"As world leader in web-based services and wireless communication, Hikari Tsushin is a natural partner for us as we bring the concept of free intranets to the Japanese small business market," said Steve Crummey, CEO of Intranets.com. According to the Ministry of International Trade and Industry in Japan, 99.7 percent of all Japanese companies have 300 or fewer employees. "Couple the Japanese small business market with the surging growth of the Internet in Japan, this venture represents tremendous growth opportunity for Intranets.com."

"The speed in which we delivered Intranets.co.jp to the Japanese market reflects our strong confidence in the Intranets.com business model," said Masahide Saito, board member and director of corporate strategy and investment headquarters of Hikari Tsushin. "We believe Japanese businesses will embrace the improved communication and increased productivity an intranet offers in much the same way that businesses using the English-language version have."

Intranets.co.jp already features more than 40 merchants providing exclusive vending services-- from flower deliveries to office supplies. DoubleClick Japan will provide advertising services.

About Hikari Tsushin
Hikari Tsushin, the leading distributor of wireless communication devices and Internet services, currently has a $68 billion market capitalization. Hikari Tsushin owns a vast sales network of nearly 2,000 shops and four affiliated companies worldwide. Since 1988, the company has launched several new businesses, including web hosting services for the business community, an Internet community site for the consumer market, CS digital broadcast television businesses, web-TV business and content services for mobile phones.

About Intranets.com
Intranets.com is the world's leading provider of on-demand collaboration services for small businesses or departments and groups inside large organizations. The company serves more than 350,000 users across 10,000 companies worldwide and offers a secure, web-based collaboration suite to share critical business information quickly and easily at any time from anywhere. Privately held and profitable, Intranets.com is led by an experienced team of software industry professionals who are committed to providing a secure, customizable, easy-to-deploy intranet solution supported by world-class customer service. Intranets.com is a PC Magazine "Editor's Choice" winner and is rated one of the world's "Top 25" leading service providers by ASPNews. The company has also been ranked by the Boston Business Journal as one of the fastest growing private companies in Massachusetts for two consecutive years. For more information or to take a FREE 30-day test drive, visit http://www.intranets.com/pr, e-mail corpsales@intranets.com or call 888-932-2600 or 781-565-6000.

About idealab!
idealab! (www.idealab.com ) identifies, creates and operates Internet businesses. Founded in March 1996 by Bill Gross, idealab! currently has approximately 50 businesses in various stages of development. idealab! generates ideas for new Internet businesses and creates, capitalizes and operates a separate company to conduct each new business. Actively participating in the on-going operations of its network companies through board representation, information sharing and facilitating collaboration among the companies, idealab! also recruits management to oversee the day-to-day operations allowing senior management to concentrate on executing the business plan. Additionally, idealab! provides each operating company with a full range of operational support services including office space and the accompanying network infrastructure, technology, graphic design, marketing, competitive research, legal, accounting and business development services. idealab! public companies include eToys (Nasdaq: ETYS), GoTo.com (Nasdaq: GOTO), CitySearch (TMCS), NetZero (Nasdaq: NZRO) and Tickets.com (Nasdaq: TIXX).

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Press Contact:

Colin Smith
Director of Public Relations
408.566.5694

Intranets.com is a trademark of Intranets.com, Inc. idealab! is a registered trademark of idealab!, Inc. Other product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners.