Mumbai, March 16, 2000 - Indiainfo.com, India's premier Internet portal network, announced plans to form a strategic partnership with Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited (VSNL), the leading Indian Internet Service Provider (ISP), to co-promote their businesses.

The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), signed by VSNL and Indiainfo.com will be binding on both parties for a period of 3 years. During this period, the agreement will be exclusive to both parties. By the terms of the MOU, Indiainfo.com will become the default home page for all current and future VSNL subscribers. VSNL and Indiainfo.com will promote the co-branded portal (vsnl-Indiainfo.com) that will offer all Indiainfo.com content, commerce, utilities and services to current and future VSNL subscribers.

As per the agreement, VSNL has taken a 30% equity stake in Indiainfo.com and will also share in the revenues generated by the portal to an extent of 20% with a minimum commitment of Rs. 200 crore over the 3-year period of the agreement.

JM Morgan Stanley Ltd advised Indiainfo.com on the transaction.

"This is a very significant deal in the Indian Internet space. VSNL is a premier franchise to be associated with. They have tremendous technology and access to huge bandwidth," said Raj Koneru. "VSNL is the largest ISP in the country and access to their subscriber base will catapult Indiainfo.com to the number one most visited Indian site. Indiainfo.com was until now one of the largest non-ISP Internet companies in India in terms of size and revenue. Now, with VSNL backing us, we have the opportunity to be the largest Internet company in India in terms of size, revenue and page views," he added.

Speaking on the commercial benefits of the partnership, Raj Koneru commented, "This partnership will significantly drive up Indiainfo.com's e-commerce revenues - B2B, B2C and advertising. This will result from access to VSNL's subscriber base and consequently increased pageviews and registered users. The emerging business model will create significant value for both VSNL and Indiainfo.com."

Nimesh Kampani, Chairman & Managing Director, JM Morgan Stanley Ltd., commented, "This transaction is a win-win deal for both parties and is a significant value creation proposition for both VSNL and Indiainfo.com."

VSNL, until now, has been focussed mainly on provision of Internet access and this agreement will give them access to both the best content as well as the best e-commerce facilities in the Indian Internet space.

VSNL presently has over three hundred and fifty thousand subscribers, all of whom will now be registered onto Indiainfo.com's utilities and services.

About Indiainfo.com

The portal Indiainfo.com offers services that include search engines, directories, community products such as e-mail; chat; message boards, and e-commerce products. Affiliate sites, accessible through the flagship Indiainfo.com portal, include careerindia.com, thatscricket.com, esharebazaar.com, easy2gift.com and evesindia.com. Indiainfo.com also offers unique services that include comprehensive personalisation of all content on Indiainfo.com, online purchase of an exhaustive range of office stationery through Office Racks, auction services, and also extensive content in various Indian languages through their linguistic portals.

Indiainfo.com is a comprehensive Internet solution and service provider, offering a portal network, advertising network, e-commerce products addressing both B2B and B2C markets, and Internet services including hosting, connectivity and development services. Indiainfo.com currently employs over 800 people in both India and the US, including Mumbai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, New Delhi, Chennai, Ahmedabad, New Jersey and New York.

About VSNL

VSNL, India's external telecommunications service provider, has been working as the backbone of India's IT industry. With its well-spread Infrastructure of 24 Earth Station Antennae, 7 International Gateways and 11 International Switches, VSNL is extending a plethora of basic, specialised, value-added and business services from its 17 points of presence in the country. VSNL has formed several global alliances with prominent international carriers to provide seamless connectivity through satellite, sub-marine and micro-wave media. VSNL is actively participating in various global optical fibre projects to achieve greater share for the country on International Information Super Highway. br>

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