Lucent Technologies' Inferno(TM) Network Software Solutions Group today announced that CyberExpress, an Internet technology company, will use the Inferno network operating system to deliver free, multi-language services over the Internet.

CyberExpress' initial product, the CE2000, is a graphical Internet interface which gives users a simple and quick way to retrieve information, browse the Web, email, Web cast and chat in their native language. Currently, the product supports English, Chinese, Japanese and Korean languages. Support for additional languages, videoconferencing and Internet telephony will be provided in the future.

"Nearly four million North American residents are Asian-speaking, and that number is growing rapidly," said Larry Bernstein, chief technical officer for CyberExpress. "The CE2000 is a much needed service in the Internet market, and Inferno helps us deliver this valuable service to the consumer's Internet access device of choice."

The CE2000 network service gives users the flexibility to personalize news and information. Once the user specifies preferences and areas of interest, the program retrieves automatically the information from the Internet. Topics available include business and finance, sports and entertainment, culture and arts, weather and travel, and politics and trade.

Mike Skarzynski, vice president and general manager for Inferno Network Software Solutions, said, "The network-ready and platform-independent nature of Inferno is an ideal environment for the type of dynamic, interactive and personalized services that CyberExpress provides. While the vast majority of Internet access devices being used today are personal computers, Inferno's small memory requirement allows CyberExpress to capitalize on the emerging information appliance market."

Inferno Release 1.0, announced in March, is a real-time network operating system that provides a software infrastructure for businesses to create distributed network applications. The Inferno system supports highly interactive software applications in 88 languages on virtually any computer or entertainment system, over any communications network, from telephony and cable television to satellite broadcast and the Internet.

CyberExpress also is a member of the Inferno Partners Program, a consortium of leading-edge companies working together to fuel marketplace growth for intelligent networks and information appliances.

Customers interested in becoming a member of the Inferno Partners Program or obtaining an Inferno 1.0 Development Kit should call 1-888-LUCENT8. Evaluation copies of the product and application demonstrations are available on the World Wide Web at http://www.lucent.com/inferno/ .

CyberExpress, Inc., founded in 1995, is an Internet technology company. The cornerstone of its strategy is a breakthrough technology that uses open development architecture. The CyberExpress 2000 (CE2000) is the first in a series of a multi-language, platform-independent software products for the Internet. The CE2000 is available for download from the CyberExpress Web site at http://www.cyberexp.com .

Lucent Technologies designs, builds and delivers a wide range of public and private networks, communications systems and software, consumer and business telephone systems and microelectronics components. Bell Labs is the research and development arm for the company.