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Java's promise to "write once, run anywhere" is taking on a distinctly global flavor. Today Netscape Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:NSCP) and Oracle Corporation licensed IBM technology that enables applications to adapt dates, currencies, numbers and text to fit respective country formats automatically.

The International Classes technology allows developers to create applications for the Internet and multinational intranets that can recognize and respond to different language and country requirements automatically. For example, without altering an application, users in China can view text, dates and other information in Chinese, while German and French users can view the same text, dates and other information in their native formats.

The International Classes are available in three versions: C, C++ and Java, providing developers with an easy migration path to Java development. Each of the three versions support 38 languages in 44 countries, which brings Java closer to being the international lingua franca of the Internet and Intranets.

"To do business globally, companies today need to reach all markets around the world easily and simultaneously," said John Swainson, general manager, application development, IBM Software Solutions. "IBM's International Classes technology provides a solid foundation for worldwide deployment of programs in different languages, bringing developers one step closer to being able to write once, run anywhere in the world."

Oracle and Netscape plan to incorporate the International Classes in future products, allowing them to easily port these products to major markets worldwide. Sun Microsystems, Inc's JavaSoft Business Unit previously licensed this technology and it is currently shipping in the Java Developer Kit 1.1 (JDK).

"To compete in today's international economy, enterprise customers are leveraging the technologies in the Netscape ONE platform to rapidly build and deploy applications," said Rick Schell, senior vice president of the Client and Platform Product Division at Netscape. "Using the IBM International Classes, Netscape ONE allows organizations to quickly extend their intranet and extranet applications and connect across dozens of international languages as well as multiple platforms."

"As a strategic partner for our global customers, we are keenly aware that global readiness is an essential function in all Oracle products," said Jerry Held, senior vice president, Server Technology Division at Oracle. "International Classes technology provides the building block for multilingual support and enables us to provide a robust industry accepted global solution for our customers."

Today's announcement further enhances the collaboration between IBM, Netscape, Oracle and Sun which began last March. The companies support the JavaBeans component model for building cross-platform applications and are committed to working together to make it easier to develop scaleable, reliable enterprise applications.

"We're pleased about IBM's announcement today," said Jon Kannegaard, vice president of software products at Sun Microsystems, Inc.'s Javasoft business unit. "Last May Sun licensed technologies from Taligent that enabled the bi-directional line layout for internationalization of text. We're very excited to be able to offer developers the opportunity to easily display lines of text in multiple languages through the Java 2D API."

The International Classes, developed by IBM's wholly owned subsidiary Taligent, implements key components of the Unicode international character set and have been shipping since early this year as part of IBM's award-winning VisualAge family of applications development tools.

IBM

IBM, recently ranked the number one software provider by Software Magazine, creates, develops and manufactures the industry's most advanced information technologies. IBM offers complete information about the company, its products, services and technologies through the World Wide Web. The fastest, easiest way to get information about IBM Software is to go to the IBM Software home page at http://www.software.ibm.com. Information on IBM's VisualAge application development tools is available at http://www.software.ibm.com/ad. Additional information about IBM's International Classes technology can be found on IBM's Taligent home page at http://www.taligent.com.

Netscape

Netscape Communications Corporation is a leading provider of open software for linking people and information over enterprise networks and the Internet. The company offers a full line of clients, servers, development tools and commercial applications to create a complete platform for next-generation, live online applications. Traded on NASDAQ under the symbol "NSCP," Netscape Communications Corporation is based in Mountain View, California. Additional information on Netscape is available on the Internet at http://home.netscape.com.

Oracle

Oracle Corporation is the world's leading supplier of software for information management and the world's second largest software company. With annual revenues exceeding $5.2 billion, the company offers its database, tools and application products, along with related consulting, education, and support services, in more than 145 countries around the world. For more information about Oracle, please call (415) 506-7000. Oracle's World Wide Web address is http://www.oracle.com.