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PhotoDisc uses Virage technology to deliver first-ever visual search capabilities over the Internet

SAN MATEO, Calif. -- June 3, 1996 -- Virage, Inc. today announced that PhotoDisc, one of the leading digital stock photography companies, is using Virage's Visual Information Retrieval (VIR) technology to provide the first-ever visual search capabilities over the Internet.

VIR technology augments PhotoDisc's current keyword searching by allowing their web site visitors to search for photographs and other images based on their visual content.

PhotoDisc has been aggressive in using technology to make finding and purchasing stock photography images easier for their customers. PhotoDisc was the first company to make royalty-free digital images available over the Internet. The company's Web site, www.photodisc.com, allows secure and immediate on-line purchasing of single low and high-resolution digital images. With the incorporation of VIR technology, designers and other users can now browse through thousands of digital images searching for a desired image based on what it looks like.

"Managing large databases of digital images can present a huge challenge for both the users and producers of these images," said Paul Lego, chief executive officer of Virage. "PhotoDisc has taken the lead in meeting this challenge, first by pioneering the Internet as a vehicle for distributing digital images, and now by incorporating VIR technology to make the job of searching and retrieving images much easier for customers. They have a reputation for employing the latest technologies to help customers use digital assets more effectively and Virage's VIR technology is a natural fit for enhancing their already significant capabilities."

"Virage's VIR technology is exciting because it gives designers an intuitive method of searching for an image by simply clicking on it and asking, 'show me an image that looks like this one'," said Bill Heston, vice president of business development at PhotoDisc.

Virage licenses VIR technology as an easy-to-integrate product called the VIR Image Engine. The VIR Image Engine performs the core duties of the search including analyzing images, extracting visual features and comparing them to quantify similarity. Other companies using Virage VIR technology include Illustra Information Technologies/Informix, which developed Visual Intelligence, a content-based image retrieval system that retrieves images from complex databases, and Object Design, which has incorporated VIR into Image Object Manager, part of Object Design's new Internet toolset.

About the Companies

Virage, Inc. (http://www.virage.com) is the leading provider of products and technologies for Visual Information Retrieval for horizontal platforms including DBMS, information retrieval, Internet, and digital imaging, as well as vertical applications such as medical imaging, CAD imaging, trademark search, and digital video. Founded in 1994 and based in San Mateo, Calif., Virage pioneered the breakthrough technology of Visual Information Retrieval.

A pioneer in its field, PhotoDisc was the first publisher of royalty-free, high resolution digital images and is regarded as the industry leader in both the technical and creative quality of digital images. PhotoDisc CD-ROMs are also available nationwide through the company's catalog and at major software retailers. PhotoDisc products are worldwide in over 50 countries including the European Community, Asia, Latin America and the Middle East.

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