AOL Includes Mentor™ Tutorials in AOL 9.0

Leading Internet service offers multimedia Communication, Learning, and Support for users

Norwalk, Connecticut, USA, November 24, 2003 — The newest version of Internet giant AOL's member "client" software includes a new way to make their members successful without making a Help Desk call and without training. AOL signed an agreement with Mentor Media Group, Inc. for the Connecticut-based company to build over 100 just-in-time multimedia tutorials for their latest release, version 9.0 Optimized. AOL members are now able to grasp this new version's capabilities in minutes by using these short multimedia demonstrations of the most common functions and setup tasks.

Type the AOL keyword "Show me" and it opens the "Show Me How" access window, where members can easily find the help they need, delivered in short demonstrations. For members without sound devices or with hearing disabilities, the script is displayed as text while it's being spoken. The member can just watch and listen, or toggle back and forth between AOL 9.0 and the Mentor tutorial to walk through and successfully perform any of the over 100 tasks/topics covered.

This agreement follows the success of Mentor Media Group's first project for AOL Communicator, which served as a proof of concept for just-in-time, multimedia user assistance to AOL's members.

"Historically, our customers have adopted new software features much faster, feel better about them, and call the Help Desk a lot less, and we expect the same type of results for America Online" said Dan Gallo, Mentor Media Group CEO. "With over 7.5 million Mentor products sold our customers have seen support costs drop as much as 25% to 40%. People strongly prefer Mentor's instant learning and support to calling the Help Desk or bothering a friend, and studies with other consumer services have been very positive. We're very proud to be able to partner with America Online."

AOL believes Mentor tutorials will help improve member satisfaction. "Our goal is the best possible experience for AOL members," said Debbie Fletter, AOL's Vice President of Promotions and Member Education. "The ideal is to help them master AOL's capabilities without having to learn and remember a lot of detailed information. That's exactly what Mentor does, so we're taking a big step in the right direction."

About Mentor™

A Mentor gives people the three things they need to master new software: Communication, Learning, and Support. First, Mentor lets them know what's coming, how it will help them, the big picture of how it works, and an overview of its functions. Next, it gives them what they need to get started. Then, as they apply the new software in their work, Mentor is always there to help them, when they get stuck or need to do a new task or one they've forgotten. They don't have to leave their desks, stop what they're doing, interrupt someone else, or call a Help Desk. All this adds up to a shorter rollout, more productive employees, and a faster, bigger return on the company's software investment.

You reach a Mentor with one click of a bookmark or icon, tell it what you want to know, then view the talking presentation or demonstration. You can even toggle between Mentor and the subject system, so Mentor can lead you through the task in real time. No longer do you need to remember the details of a system's tasks. Mentor remembers them for you.

Mentor can be experienced online at

About Mentor Media Group, Inc.

Mentor Media Group is a leading business communications company offering custom and off-the-shelf user deployment solutions. With over seven million user seats sold, Mentor programs help companies get more out of their new technology by making users successful as soon as the technology is deployed. Mentors are appropriate for a wide variety of products and services offered by software developers, hardware manufactures, ISPs, makers of wireless devices, and developers of e-commerce sites or exchanges.

Mentor delivers just-in-time, multimedia support via local networks, CD-ROMs, local hard drives, or streamed over the Internet. Mentorss are available for Lotus products such as Notes, Sametime, and QuickPlace, and for popular Microsoft products such as Windows 2000 and XP, Office 2000 and XP, Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Internet Explorer. Mentor has become a deployment and support standard in a wide range of companies of all sizes.

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