EarthLink Teams With SurfMonkey to Offer EarthLink Subscribers A Complete Suite of Child-Friendly Internet Services

Advanced Kids Browser and Safety Service Provides Children with a Safer On-Line Environment

EarthLink Teams With SurfMonkey to Offer EarthLink Subscribers A Complete Suite of Child-Friendly Internet Services

Advanced Kids Browser and Safety Service
Provides Children with a Safer On-Line Environment

ATLANTA, BURBANK, & SAN JOSE, CA, October 30, 2001 -- EarthLink (NASDAQ: ELNK), one of the worlds largest Internet service providers, has teamed up with SurfMonkey Inc. Ô, the leading family Internet technology company, to offer family-focused EarthLink subscribers an EarthLink Kids Powered by SurfMonkey" suite of safety services. The new downloadable kids browser and safety service offers kids an EarthLink Internet experience that is more fun, safer and easy to navigate.
   Available free of charge to EarthLink subscribers, EarthLink Kids Powered by SurfMonkey features a fun kids browser with links to thousands of quality Web sites. It also offers advanced, customizable filtering and blocking technology to help parents steer their children clear of inappropriate Internet content.
   We are very pleased to team with SurfMonkey to offer a truly effective and user-friendly parental control solution that will help our subscribers children enjoy the Internet in a safe, entertaining and productive manner," said Jon Irwin, executive vice president of EarthLinks Member Experience" group. EarthLink Kids, Powered by SurfMonkey is an end-to-end solution for affording kids a safe and enjoyable Internet experience, while giving their parents peace of mind."
Within the next month, EarthLink also will offer its subscribers a SurfMonkey Premium kids browser and safety service for a special subscription fee of $2.95 per month or $29.95 per year. The Premium service includes communication features that help protect kids from strangers they may encounter on-line through Internet chat, instant messaging or email.
The Premium browser and safety service features a built-in CyberFriend Communicator that lets kids communicate with parent-approved friends through their own email, instant messaging, videophone, bulletin board and chat functions. The Premium service also offers advanced parental controls that allow parents to tailor an Internet experience to the individual needs of their children.
"SurfMonkey encourages children to explore and learn on-line by making the whole Internet experience more fun, safer and easier," said Charles Hart, chairman and CEO of SurfMonkey. "As one of the largest service providers in the world, EarthLink recognizes the enormous potential of offering family-friendly services, and our two joint offerings continue EarthLinks tradition of providing pioneering Internet services to families."
The EarthLink Kids Powered by SurfMonkey product fills a growing need among young Internet users who surf the Web regularly. The number of kids on-line in the U.S. grew to 18 million this year and estimates show that number will reach 27 million by 2005 (Jupiter Communications Population Model, April 2000). Additionally, a recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association has shown that as many as one in five children who use the Internet regularly has been sexually approached or solicited on-line and one in four has encountered unwanted sexual material. The vast majority of those exposures happened to kids using the home computer.
Recently awarded Mobile Computing & Communications First Class Award" for best ISP, EarthLink is constantly recognized by the industry for its best-of-breed Internet services and industry leading, 24/7/365 customer service and support. Likewise, over the last five years SurfMonkey Inc. has deployed a world-class team of computer scientists and engineers to develop a unique and comprehensive platform that elevates the Internet experience for children and families worldwide. In June, FamilyPC Magazine awarded SurfMonkey the highest rating among top family Internet sites, including Disney.com, Sesame Workshop, Sports Illustrated for Kids and Nick.com.

About EarthLink
   The #1 Provider of the Real InternetTM, EarthLink brings the magic of the Internet to approximately 4.8 million subscribers every day. Headquartered in Atlanta, EarthLink provides a full range of innovative access, hosting and e-commerce solutions to thousands of communities over a nationwide network of dial-up points of presence, as well as high-speed access and wireless technologies. EarthLink is committed to doing an exceptional job of pleasing its subscribers, shareholders and the community by following the companys Core Values and Beliefs [http://www.earthlink.net/about/ourvalues/cvb/index.html]. Information about EarthLink services is available by calling 800-395-8425 and through EarthLinks Web site at www.earthlink.net.

About SurfMonkey

SurfMonkey Inc. provides the first comprehensive Internet solution designed to more safely open up the Internet as an educational, entertainment and communications resource for kids and families worldwide. SurfMonkeys patent-pending technology package is uniquely designed to screen out unwanted sites and explicit language in a context-sensitive manner. The SurfMonkey browser is available in English, Spanish, French, German, Japanese, Chinese and Korean.

Founded in 1996, SurfMonkey Inc. is a privately held company located in Campbell, California. The company creates and integrates leading-edge technologies to provide a safer, easier environment for kids to learn, communicate and have fun on the Internet. For more information, please visit the companys Web site at www.surfmonkey.com, or call 408/558-9920.

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