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PeoplePC Secures Contract to Connect Ford Employees Worldwide

3 February 2000

PeoplePC Secures Contract to Connect Ford Employees Worldwide

  Partners With Key Industry Leaders to Deliver Turn-Key Technology Solution

    SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 3 -- PeoplePC, Inc., a company that
empowers people to reap the rewards of personal computing and the Internet,
today announced an innovative partnership with Ford Motor Company. The
partnership connects Ford employees worldwide in their homes through the
PeoplePC membership service. This global initiative will greatly expand
PeoplePC's user base, bringing the collective buying power of hundreds of
thousands of members to its online buying community.
    PeoplePC's virtual business model and turnkey solution is unparalleled in
the industry. Ford employees will receive a Hewlett-Packard PC and printer in
addition to unlimited Internet access through MCI WorldCom's UUNET for only a
$5 co-payment per month in the United States.
    "PeoplePC shares our vision of a world where technology is available and
accessible to all and everyone has a voice in the digital dialogue," said
Carly Fiorina, president and chief executive officer, Hewlett-Packard Company.
"PeoplePC and HP are helping companies communicate and collaborate even more
efficiently with the workforce and the world."
    "The role of PeoplePC is to provide the means for connecting Ford
employees to the Internet at home. We will offer the tools, the services and
the buying clout necessary for everyone involved to fully realize their value
as consumers in the information age," said Nick Grouf, founder, chairman and
CEO of PeoplePC. "We are very excited to have been selected to work with Ford
to drive this effort. With our partners, we will deliver Ford employees the
new digital economy while also expanding PeoplePC membership and our own
buying power. This is an innovative deal for Ford employees and current
PeoplePC members."
    PeoplePC's partnerships with leading corporations provide PeoplePC with
unique capabilities to scale to meet the needs of Ford and other companies'
employee connectivity programs. PeoplePC brings together the leaders in their
particular field with the ability to deliver a complete end-to-end solution,
including, HP (PC manufacturing), Ingram Micro (PC logistics and
distribution), SYKES International (customer support), and Microsoft
(operating system and productivity software). Additionally, PeoplePC has deep
relationships with the largest portfolio of companies on the Internet through
Softbank and has partnerships with dozens of leading online and
brick-and-mortar retailers that provide deals and discounts to
PeoplePC members.
    Specifically, PeoplePC will provide Ford employees a first-rate HP
Pavilion PC and HP DeskJet printer; unlimited Internet access through MCI
WorldCom's UUNET, a global leader in Internet communications solutions; a
rich, customized portal experience; phone and in-home technical support
domestically; and a host of unique offers, deals and discounts through
PeoplePC's Buyer's Club which includes over seventy partners.
    As Ford employees join the PeoplePC community, they become part of the
broader PeoplePC Buyer's Club, significantly increasing the installed base of
PeoplePC members. This expansion of users will fuel PeoplePC's ability to
deliver all PeoplePC members deals and discounts from well-known consumer
online and brick-and-mortar retailers through the collective buying power of
PeoplePC's membership.

    About PeoplePC
    The mission of PeoplePC is to enable as many people as possible to enjoy
the greatest benefits of the networked economy. We offer a simple and
affordable way to get a computer and get online and we take care of our
members with world class customer service. By bringing large numbers of
members together, PeoplePC creates a more efficient way to link buyers and
sellers. Sellers reduce their customer acquisition and retention costs, and
pass much of these savings on to their buyers -- the members of PeoplePC.
Working with its partners -- some of the world's most trusted brands
-- PeoplePC's business model fulfills the potential that the Internet has long
represented but rarely delivered upon. For more information, visit
http://www.peoplepc.com.
    NOTE:  PeoplePC is a trademark of PeoplePC, Inc. All other products or
brands as they appear in this release are trademarks or registered trademarks
of their respective holders.