Bangkok--Jun 14--Shandwick International (Thailand) Southeast Asia's Largest Portal Network to Work with Intelto Roll-out Services on Highly Reliable and Cost-Effective Intel Pentium III Xeon Processor-based Server Platform Intel Corporation announced that Catcha.com, South East Asia's leading online portal network, has selected Intel architecture-based servers as the building block for its planned expansion throughout the region. The decision enables Catcha.com to tap into reliable, cost effective infrastructure to meet the challenges of facilitating e-Business acceleration within the emerging 'surge economy'. Catcha.com Malaysia's executive director Brian Wong shared the company's challenges and future expansion plans with Dr. Craig R Barrett, Intel's president and chief executive officer, at a seminar in Kuala Lumpur yesterday. The seminar, entitled 'Global Strategies and Action Plan for e-Business', showed the dramatic changes to the business world and highlighted the technology requirements for businesses to succeed in the Internet economy. "To succeed, Southeast Asian businesses must recognize that now is the time to extend their infrastructure and embrace e-Business," Nic Lim, Catcha.com's group chief operating officer, said. "This understanding is one of the key synergies between Catcha.com, the largest regional portal and Intel, the pre-eminent building block supplier to the worldwide Internet economy." Catcha.com's localized portal sites in Malaysia, Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines are currently based on Intel Pentium III and Intel Pentium III Xeon processor-based servers. The company plans to expand these sites by using Intel architecture-based servers to offer new services including Wireless Access Protocol (WAP), Short Messaging Services (SMS) and e-Commerce. "Intel Pentium III and Intel Pentium III Xeon processor-based servers offer the best price-performance solution available for companies looking for a robust Internet platform," said Yohani Yusof, country manager of Intel Electronics (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd. "Intel Architecture's Internet performance and high level of scalability will enable Catcha.com to offer its users a wide range of value-added services quickly and cost-effectively." "Catcha.com is one of the most highly trafficked sites in the region therefore requiring cutting edge infrastructure. Being the leading digital media company in South East Asia, we need a proven platform to accommodate exponential membership growth and demands for new and exciting services. With Intel, we can be confident that we are receiving the highest level of performance, compatibility and support," said Lim. "The Intel Architecture platform provides us with a dependable solution. Pentium III Xeon processor-based servers provide easy integration and a high level of support, combined with the high performance and availability critical for a successful deployment of Internet services." Intel, the world's largest chip maker, is also a leading manufacturer of computer, networking and communications products. Additional information about Intel is available at www.intel.com/pressroom. * Third party marks and brands are property of their respective holders. About Catcha.com Catcha.com is Southeast Asia's leading network of localized portals, formed following the tripartite merger between leading search engines in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. Maintaining dual headquarters in Singapore and Malaysia, Catcha.com also has offices in Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand and Australia. Catcha.com provides Internet users the most comprehensive directory of Asian Internet content. Catcha.com has been growing from strength to strength, with its finance portal recently listed in Forbes magazine's "Best of the Web" (March 6, 2000). The Company was also a finalist for the "Hottest New Face of the Internet" title in the recent Internet World Asia 2000 Awards. Building on its success, Catcha.com is also developing a regional family of media properties, such as XUDIO.com, Asia's leading online distributor of digital music. More information on Catcha.com can be found on http://www.catcha.com/. CONTACT: Petcharaporn Charoennibhonvanich Kanpirom Ungpakorn Intel Microelectronics (Thailand) Ltd. Shandwick International (Thailand) Ltd. (66 2) 654 0654 (66 2) 257 0300 [email protected] [email protected] End.-AN-