AMERICA ONLINE AND GEORGE WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY ANNOUNCE THE GRAND OPENING OF LAB RESEARCHING "HOME OF THE 21st CENTURY" TECHNOLOGY

Research Alliance Explores Issues Related to Developing
New Uses for the Internet in the Home

           DULLES, VA AND WASHINGTON, DC -- America Online, the world's leading interactive service, and The George Washington University announced today the grand opening of the Home of the 21st Century Research Laboratory at The George Washington University, Virginia campus.  The new facility -- located just five miles from AOL's headquarters in Dulles -- will focus on researching technologies that could lead to development of new uses for the Internet in the home.

           The alliance, which is partially supported by a grant from Virginia's Center for Innovative Technology, is aimed at addressing basic scientific and technical questions related to the vision of a connected home in which entertainment, communications and information will be accessed easily and conveniently around the house through home networks and high-speed connections on a wide variety of devices.  "Our partnership with AOL enables our students and faculty to explore the latest Internet technologies -- technologies that have real potential for improving the quality of life in the home, said Timothy Tong, dean of GW's School of Engineering and Applied Science.  "This alliance merges academia with the high-tech dot-com world -- creating the perfect environment for our students to work side by side with the world's leading Internet and media/entertainment company to explore the potential of the Internet in the home."

           Ken Loewenthal, vice president of AOL's Innovation Center said, "AOL strongly believes in the vision of the digital household, in which families can take full advantage of the interactive medium's ability to transform everything from their television to their toaster, and we are working on a number of fronts to develop products and services to make the Internet experience an even more central part of consumer's daily lives.  As we do so, we're very excited about the opportunity to work with a world-class research institution right here in our back yard to answer some of the basic questions that are part of making home networks a reality."

         AOL's Home of the 21st Century Lab will research a wide variety of technologies, including the personalization of wireless computer networks. Work has already begun in areas such as wireless sensors that can detect motion and transmit audio and video as well as other data to computers, various handheld devices, and appliances that are connected to a network.  Researchers are studying ways to coordinate this data and enable residents to monitor and run appliances, entertainment centers and security systems through an Internet connection.

         Other research initiatives planned include how to control different types of devices and appliances in a unified manner.  Since appliances, such as ovens, stereo components, and a home security systems may be manufactured by different companies, technology must be developed to interpret data received from these devices for use through the Internet.

          In addition to sponsoring the Home of the 21st Century Lab, AOL will continue to be an integral part of GW's developing projects.  AOL is dedicated to bringing its vision of consumer services to the new science and technology that will result from this research.  Unlike other George Washington research projects, faculty and students will be able to work hand in hand with America Online to fully integrate the services in a real world environment.

          The social implications, and in particular, the human impact of a totally connected home of the future, has yet to be fully assessed by sociologists, psychologists, and ethicists.  The new alliance could lead to further exploration in this area by AOL researchers and faculty and students in The George Washington University's related academic programs.

          America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of AOL Time Warner, Inc. (NYSE: AOL). Based in Dulles, Virginia, America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.

          The George Washington University Virginia Campus serves an international technology and management community from its 77,000 square foot, $25 million graduate educations and research center.  Since opening in August 1991, the 50-acre campus has grown from modest beginnings with 200 enrollments and $50,000 in funded research to a strong, vigorous cluster of academic programs with more than 3,000 enrollments and funded research that tops $15 million.

-- GW --

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