DULLES, Va. & GAITHERSBURG, Md. -- (BUSINESS WIRE) -- April 19, 2004 - America Online, Inc., the world's leading interactive services company, and AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc., the firm behind WeatherBug, today announced a partnership to integrate AWS' WeatherBug product with the AOL® Instant Messenger™ service (AIM®).

Across the U.S., weather is the number one topic of everyday conversation. Some 70% of consumers seek weather news online, as compared with consumers seeking news on money (51%), politics (50%), or sports (47%)(1). Meanwhile, instant messaging is growing as one of today's most popular, versatile and effective communications media. Individuals are connecting via PC, wireless PDA and cellular telephone, and instant messages sent daily are predicted to outpace email by the end of this year.(2)

Today, the AIM service and WeatherBug have joined forces to provide AIM's 36 million active users with an easy way to share timely weather information. Under the new alliance, weather data from WeatherBug, which streams live local conditions to 15 million users(3) from a nationwide network of 7,000 school- and community-based weather stations and 1,000 cameras, is available to AIM users on AIM Today™ as well as through an optional integration with the updated AIM 5.5 download.

The updated version of AIM 5.5 is available now via AIM Today and AIM.com (http://www.aim.com). It enables AIM users to conduct live video instant messaging conversations(4) , link-up and manage multiple AIM screen names from the same session, invite their buddies to play online games through their instant messaging connection and access WeatherBug's up-to-the-second local conditions, nationwide weather camera images and potentially life-saving weather alerts.

"WeatherBug and AOL Instant Messenger are already very popular next door neighbors on the desktop. Working together, we can provide consumers with many innovative ways to share essential weather information," said Edmund Fish, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Desktop Messaging, America Online, Inc. "WeatherBug's long history in education also complements AOL's commitment to delivering quality online content. Our relationship will help users in ways that enhance their daily lives."

"WeatherBug users are an extremely communicative group. They care deeply about how weather impacts their lives and the lives of their friends and loved ones," said Andy Jedynak, Senior Vice President and General Manager, WeatherBug. "We're looking forward to building on the popular community features we have recently developed, like photo sharing, and making them available to an even larger audience of users through our new alliance with AIM."

In the coming months, AIM and WeatherBug will investigate new weather features for AIM users and explore opportunities to collaborate within the vast network of schools, educators, and students that use innovative educational programs such as WeatherBug Achieve(TM).

About America Online®, Inc.
America Online, Inc. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Time Warner Inc. Based in Dulles, Va., America Online is the world's leader in interactive services, Web brands, Internet technologies and e-commerce services.

About the Updated AIM® 5.5
Designed to give users a more expressive instant messaging experience, America Online's AIM 5.5 offers a number of new advanced instant messaging capabilities that extend the vibrant social interaction that takes place within the AIM community. Users have the ability to conduct live video instant messaging conversations(5) , link-up and manage multiple AIM screen names from the same session, invite their buddies to play online games through their instant messaging connection and access WeatherBug's precise live weather conditions. WeatherBug, along with other optional components, are offered as enhancements to the AIM service.

About WeatherBug
WeatherBug (weatherbug.com) ensures that individuals, schools, businesses and communities always get the most precise live weather conditions, the most relevant reports, and the earliest weather warnings to safeguard their property and their lives. WeatherBug owns the world's largest weather network, which has more than 7,000 live sensors and over 1,000 cameras that generate neighborhood level reports every second, not just every hour. This network powers various products and services, including: WeatherBug, the number one weather Internet application, which streams live neighborhood conditions to more than 32 million registered users; WeatherBug Media Services, which delivers live weather information to over 80 million U.S. households through partnerships with more than 100 local television stations; WeatherBug Education, which provides engaging weather information and educational tools to schools and colleges, including an online learning program for K-12 schools called WeatherBug Achieve; and WeatherBug Professional Services, which uses the company's unique weather network and software to provide high-value solutions for vertical industries such as energy, transportation, and first response. WeatherBug is a brand of AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc. (aws.com).

(1) Pew Research Center for the People & the Press, 2002.
(2) Gartner Research, Inc, 2003
(3) 14.9 million unique visitors, according to comScore Media Metrix, February 2004
(4) Requires Windows XP and a webcam
(5) Requires Windows XP and a webcam