IBM Puts the U.S. Open On-Line, Delivering Up-To-The-Minute Information to
Tennis Fans Everywhere

ARMONK, N.Y., August 29, 1995 . . . IBM today launched the 1995 U.S. Open
home page on the Internet's World Wide Web, bringing information about the
Grand Slam tennis tournament, which kicked off this week, to the
fingertips of fans throughout the world.

The U.S. Open home page offers the tournament schedule, statistical records
and player biographies on-line, and can be accessed at
http://www.usopen.org on the World Wide Web.

Benefiting from innovative IBM technologies, on-line tennis fans can be a
part of the action by not only accessing real-time scores of any match,
but by taking tours of the USTA National Tennis Center, reading players'
diaries from the tournament, and viewing the U.S. Open from the eyes of
ball boys, security guards and ice cream vendors.

"The U.S. Open home page lets tennis fans throughout the world participate
in the tournament like never before," said Tom Burke, IBM's program
manager, sports marketing. "With the U.S. Open home page, we are bringing
tennis fans 24-hour access to information they cannot get from any other
source." Earlier this year, IBM successfully launched Internet home pages
for Wimbledon, the PGA tour and The 1996 Summer Olympic Games.

Sights, Sounds and Scores

The U.S. Open home page offers an aerial view of the various courts at the
National Tennis Center, displaying the scores of the games in progress on
each court. The scores of all matches are available, including those not
being televised.

Each of the 16 courts at the 1995 U.S. Open is equipped with an IBM
ThinkPad* 730T pen-based laptop computer which umpires use to
electronically record each point of every game as it happens. The
information is immediately transmitted to the electronic scoreboards and
information systems on-site, including an IBM RS/6000* SP high-performance
computer, which serves the information to the Internet.

The powerful SP computer is used as the home page server because the system
needs to access large databases of sports information and deliver it to
many users simultaneously. Using a technique called "mirroring," and with
new technology to manage computer traffic, on-line tennis fans will
experience quicker delivery of information than ever before.

Take a Tour, Read a Player's Diary

Internet visitors can take a personal tour of the National Tennis Center by
clicking on various icons of photos taken at the U.S. Open, and view the
court from that particular angle. Users can also roam around the grounds,
following on-site photographers, to get a sense for the action on and off
the courts.

Some of the players in the U.S. Open are keeping diaries of their
experiences during the two weeks of the tournament on IBM ThinkPads, which
are fed to the Internet to give "virtual visitors" a deeper understanding
of their favorite players, their personal "rituals" and superstitions, and
what they are thinking about out on the court.

Smile, You're in Cyberspace

Visitors at the U.S. Open are being interviewed and audio taped responding
to a list of frequently asked questions such as "How long is the line for
popcorn?" or "Have you seen Brooke Shields yet?" On-line users can
download the audio clips and play back their responses.

IBM is utilizing its POWER Visualization System* to create video clips from
tournament highlights and make this video available to visitors on the
U.S. Open's Web site. The clips can provide fans with video perspectives
of the events that make up the U.S. Open. The home page also carries live
audio/video feeds to Internet users with high-end workstations.

There are several computer terminals at the U.S. Open which provide
Internet access to tournament attendees so they can access this extensive
collection of data.

Other technologies IBM is providing the U.S. Open include:

o  The IBM ThinkPad Speed Zone, located outside the USTA
   National Tennis Center, allows tennis fans to test the speed of
   their serve.

o  The IBM Inquiry System, a touch-screen PC that gives U.S.
   Open attendees match information, statistical data, schedules and
   player biographies.
o  The IBM Sports Info Line enables the public to call
   (718) 760-6330 and receive automated match and player information.
 
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