AOL Service Surpasses 21 Million Members
DULLES, VA -- America Online, Inc., the leading interactive services company, announced that membership of its AOL service has surpassed 21 million. On Christmas Day 1999, more new members joined AOL than on any single day in the company's history.

Yahoo! Sports Ushers In New Look for 2000
SANTA CLARA, CA -- Yahoo!® Sports donned a new look for 2000, further bringing together everything next century's sports fan could want-all under one virtual roof. The enhanced site emphasizes more integrated audio and video broadcast streaming, expanded international and local event coverage, as well as sports shopping and auctions e-commerce capabilities.

Television Newswire

Fox Broadcasting Company Commits to New David E. Kelley Drama, The Faculty, for Fall 2000 Season
CENTURY CITY, CA -- FOX Broadcasting Company has committed to The Faculty, a one-hour drama with comic elements, from David E. Kelley Productions and Twentieth Century Fox Television for the Fall 2000 season, it was announced by Sandy Grushow, Chairman of the Fox Television Entertainment Group and Doug Herzog, President of Entertainment, Fox. [MORE]

Dick Clark Productions Receives Third Extension for Six New Episodes of Greed From Fox Network
BURBANK, CA -- Signaling the continuing popularity of its new series, "Greed," dick clark productions, inc. has received a commitment from the Fox Network for six additional episodes of the prime time game show.

Comedy Central Teams Up With Ucla Jonsson Cancer Center To Research The Use Of Laughter To Prevent And Treat Disease
NEW YORK, NY -- As part of the network's continuing pro-social program "Comedy Rx," Comedy Central has provided a $75,000 research grant to UCLA to study how to most effectively use humor to reduce pain and to prevent and treat disease. Humor will also be studied as a tool to instruct and educate patients on health issues and as a form of therapy to ease the emotional problems that can result from physical illness. [MORE]

Movie Newswire

NASAA: Movie Boiler Room Wins "Thumbs Up" from Top State Securities Cop
WASHINGTON DC -- The soon-to-be-released motion picture Boiler Room won praise from the nation's top state securities cop for shining the spotlight on a criminal subculture on Wall Street that has stolen hundreds of millions-perhaps billions-of dollars from investors. Writer-director, Ben Younger deserves to be commended for this realistic, insider's view of crime at a fly-by-night brokerage firm.

Game Newswire

Microsoft DirectX To Feature Real-Time Voice Technology
REDMOND, WA -- Microsoft Corp. announced plans to incorporate real-time voice technology, called DirectPlay Voice, into the next version of its popular Microsoft DirectX suite of multimedia application programming interfaces. The innovation was adapted from the Battlefield Communicator application created by ShadowFactor Software Inc., a Canadian company acquired by Microsoft in June 1999.

Matrox And Promethean Designs Join Forces To Offer Two-Player Head-To-Head Racing In Renegade Racers
MONTREAL, CANADA -- Matrox Graphics Inc. and Promethean Designs announced that the new game, Renegade Racers™, is currently shipping in the US with support for Matrox's DualHead Display technology. Because it simultaneously supports two display screens, the Matrox G400's DualHead Display allows two Renegade Racers fans to race head-to-head, with each player using his or her own monitor-a new and exhilarating experience that is superior to traditional split-screen modes.

Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc. Consolidates Its Business Operations To Prepare For Playstation®2
FOSTER CITY, CA -- Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., announced that effective April 1, 2000, it will combine its operations to prepare for long-term business objectives, including the anticipated introduction of the PlayStation®2 platform. The consolidation unifies the company's two operating divisions in an effort to both continue its role as undisputed industry leader and solidify this position for the future.

Electronic Arts' The Sims Arrives In Stores
REDWOOD CITY, CA -- When the original SimCity was released in 1989, it changed the way people thought of and played computer games. Now Will Wright, the designer of SimCity, is set to change interactive entertainment again with his people simulator, The Sims™, released by Electronic Arts.

Music Newswire

EMusic.com Signs Up Over 3,000 Affiliate Web Sites To Offer Its Downloadable Music
REDWOOD CITY, CA -- EMusic.com Inc. announced a new affiliate marketing program that allows any music-related Web site to earn money by linking to and selling downloadable music from EMusic.com's catalog of over 50,000 MP3 songs. EMusic.com has already signed up over 3,000 music fans, label and partner Web sites to offer its downloadable music.

BMG Entertainment: Five Major Music Companies And IBM Successfully Complete Electronic Music Distribution Trial
SAN DIEGO, CA -- Five major music companies - BMG Entertainment, EMI Music, Sony Music Entertainment, Universal Music Group and Warner Music Group - and IBM announced the successful completion of their six- month electronic music distribution trial called AlbumDirect. The AlbumDirect trial remains the most comprehensive initiative of its kind to date. [MORE]

Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits Teams Up With The Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation To Collect Instruments To Keep Music Alive In America's Schools
ATLANTA, GA -- Popeyes Chicken & Biscuits, announced a musical instrument collection drive in conjunction with its national philanthropy the Mr. Holland's Opus Foundation (MHOF) in an effort to promote instrumental music nationwide. The instrument drive kicked-off on February 2 and will run for one month at select music retailers in Atlanta, Houston, Dallas and New Orleans.