Press Release

BRITANNICA BOLSTERS MULTIMEDIA REFERENCE SUITE
with MORE VIDEO and VISUAL NAVIGATION!
Product for All Ages Now More Mac Friendly.

LONDON, August 31, 2004

Hours of new video and a dazzling visual interface top the list of the new features in the Encyclopaedia Britannica Ultimate Reference Suite 2005, the multimedia reference library for information seekers of all ages.

The new features add more ease and enjoyment to the product, which leads the field in depth and range of coverage. Unlike other multimedia reference products, which focus mainly on students, the mammoth, 100,000-article Ultimate Reference Suite, winner of numerous software awards, provides comprehensive information for everyone from young children to adults in one place.

New and updated content for the 2005 edition, which hits stores next month, includes the Madrid bombings, Norah Jones and the New York City blackout.

The product will be available on DVD and CD-ROM for Windows and Macintosh computers.
It has a raft of new features, including:

• More Video.
  In addition to revisions and updates to the reference suite's three encyclopedias, Britannica has added extensive amounts of new video designed to bring research topics to life. The product now has more than three hours of video.
• Britannica BrainStormer™.
  This is a lively visual browser that allows users to cruise rapidly around the Encyclopaedia Britannica with a few clicks of the mouse. Based on a unique classification system developed over decades by Britannica indexers, it places every article and topic within a vast web of logical relationships. The result, when these relationships are displayed graphically, is an exhilarating ride though the encyclopedia that makes research easier and more fun.
• Better Macintosh Integration.
  One of the few leading encyclopedia products for Macintosh, Britannica's 2005 reference suite is designed to match the operating system on which it is being used. On a Macintosh it looks like a Mac application: scroll bars, icons, window borders and other design elements appear in Macintosh styling.

“From school to university and beyond, this is the reference product for everyone”, said Jorge Cauz, president of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc. “It's reliable, it's complete, and it's now more exciting than ever.”

The Ultimate Reference Suite has three encyclopedias: the entire 32-volume Encyclopaedia Britannica, Britannica Student Encyclopedia and Britannica Elementary Encyclopedia. Each encyclopedia forms the cornerstone of an integrated “reference library” that includes a dictionary, thesaurus, atlas, and historical timelines appropriate to the age of the user. Young students can advance to the next level when they're ready, and adults can use it all their lives.

Customers get free downloadable updates for a year and a 90-day free subscription to Britannica's online premium service (www.britannica.com), with popular magazines and links to valuable Web sites.

Britannica's Ultimate Reference Suite, which will be on sale from 10th September, carries a suggested retail price of £59.95. The Deluxe Edition CD-Rom, also available from 10th September, carries a suggested retail price of £39.95. Both products are available in retail stores and direct from Britannica. Customers can call 0845 075 7000 or go to www.britannica.co.uk

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Contact:

Nick Porter Band & Brown Communications +44 (0)207 419 7320 nick.porter@bbpr.com