Previously, WebCrawler may have provided a statement or statements regarding the Year 2000 status of certain products or services provided by WebCrawler. We are designating all such statements, as well as any other Year 2000 information provided to you or contained on our Web site regarding products and services offered by WebCrawler or with respect to WebCrawler's year 2000 processing capabilities or readiness, as "Year 2000 Readiness Disclosures," subject to the limitations set forth below:

Year 2000 Background

Many currently installed computer systems, hardware and software products are coded to accept only two digit entries in the date code field and cannot distinguish 21st century dates from 20th century dates. These date code fields will need to distinguish 21st century dates from 20th century dates and, as a result, many companies' software and computer systems may need to be upgraded or replaced in order to comply with such "Year 2000" requirements. WebCrawler's business uses numerous systems that may potentially be impacted by Year 2000 related problems. Those systems include, among others:

• hardware and software systems used by WebCrawler to deliver services to its consumers and manage its business, including WebCrawler's proprietary software systems as well as hardware and software supplied by third parties;
• communications networks, such as the Internet, which WebCrawler depends on to provide services;
• the internal systems of WebCrawler's consumers, users and suppliers;
• and non-information technology systems and devices used by WebCrawler in its business, such as telephone and building systems.

WebCrawler has implemented a six-phase plan to mitigate if possible Year 2000 effects on WebCrawler's business and systems. WebCrawler has designated a Year 2000 project team, given it a budget, and charged it with the task of developing and implementing the plan. In addition, our plan has executive sponsorship, and is currently regularly reviewed by senior management. Our six-phase plan, although subject to change without notice in WebCrawler's sole discretion, presently includes the following:

• Phase one, awareness: involves increasing company awareness by educating and involving all appropriate levels of management regarding the need to address Year 2000 issues.
• Phase two, inventory: consists of identifying all of WebCrawler's systems, technology, services and relationships that may be impacted by Year 2000.
• Phase three, assessment: involves determining WebCrawler's current state of Year 2000 readiness for those areas identified in the inventory phase and prioritizing areas that need to be addressed.
• Phase four, remediation: consists of developing a plan and repairing, replacing or retiring those systems identified as needing correction in the assessment phase.
• Phase five, validation: involves developing test plans, conducting tests and analyzing the results of these tests to assure all key systems are Year 2000 compliant.
• Phase six, implementation and contingency planning: consists of moving compliant systems back into the production environment and to assure systems' Year 2000 status remains unaffected by subsequent changes. The contingency plan includes developing WebCrawler's response to failure of mission critical systems, and other major risks related to Year 2000 compliance.

In addition to the systems used by WebCrawler in its business, WebCrawler utilizes third-party equipment and software in the delivery of its services and in the management of its business that may not be Year 2000 compliant. WebCrawler relies upon various vendors, governmental agencies, utility companies, telecommunication service companies, including Internet service and online service providers, delivery service companies and other service providers who are outside WebCrawler's control. WebCrawler has not fully determined the progress of these entities in identifying and addressing systems that may potentially be impacted by Year 2000 related problems. As part of phase two, inventory, WebCrawler plans to make inquiries of certain of these entities and take steps to assess or monitor compliance.

WebCrawler is also subject to external forces that generally affect similarly situated businesses over which it has no control, such as possible interruptions of utility or data network services as a result of Year 2000 failures. In the event any third parties cannot timely provide WebCrawler with content, products, services or systems that are Year 2000 ready or if there are unremediated problems with WebCrawler's proprietary systems, the content on WebCrawler's services, access to WebCrawler's services, the ability to offer page views, products, services and the ability to recognize or process sales may be affected. Further, outages, delays and other difficulties due to system failures unrelated to WebCrawler's services or systems may affect WebCrawler's services.

While WebCrawler has identified tasks to be accomplished and plans to attain Year 2000 readiness, there is no assurance that WebCrawler will succeed in its efforts to address all Year 2000 issues. In an effort to reduce the risks associated with the Year 2000, WebCrawler has taken the additional step of incorporating contingency planning into its six-phase plan, building upon disaster recovery and contingency planning that WebCrawler already has in place.

WebCrawler cannot and will not make any representations regarding the Year 2000 compliance or readiness of any other person or entity or of any products or services provided by a third party. To the extent you have been provided with any prior statements regarding the services or products of WebCrawler or a third party that are inconsistent with any of the statements contained here or on our Web site, the statements contained here shall be controlling and you may not rely upon any such inconsistent statement. You should refer to this Year 2000 Internet Web site for the most current information regarding Year 2000 readiness. This Year 2000 Readiness Disclosure designation applies to information delivered to you, through or derived from WebCrawler's past and present Web site pages, and or other channels or materials, including but not limited to customer service or technical support. This disclosure is intended solely for products or services sold and provided to customers in the United States and is not to be relied upon outside the United States.

The above discussion for the Year 2000 is based on WebCrawler's best estimates given information that is currently available, and is subject to change.

On a quarterly basis, WebCrawler files financial reports with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that currently include statements on the status of our year 2000 readiness. This is an edited version. For the full text, you can look at the SEC Filings Link on our Investor Relations site, or it is available from many public sources. If you have any reason to contact us regarding Y2K, please feel free to send an email to Y2K@excitecorp.com.