Brainshark and PlaceWare Team to Offer Integrated Live and On-Demand Web Communications Solution

New Brainshark Gateway for PlaceWare Provides Customers with Content Management and Enhanced Editing of Archived Events

Burlington, MA, May 20, 2002 - Brainshark, Inc., a provider of self-service rich-media communications solutions, and PlaceWare, Inc., a provider of web conferencing and collaboration services for Internet-based business communications, today announced a strategic partnership that will provide customers of both companies with enhanced web communications capabilities. Brainshark unveiled the Brainshark Gateway for PlaceWare, a component of the Brainshark Communications Platform that enables users to record PlaceWare sessions and instantly convert them into the Brainshark application. Once the PlaceWare replay is uploaded to Brainshark, users have enhanced options to leverage the archive by customizing the archived presentation, merging existing archives together, creating new content, and re-purposing archives for multiple uses. This announcement complements PlaceWare’s mission to bring additional functionality to its World Class Web Conferencing solution and enhance its ease of use. Under the terms of the alliance, PlaceWare will sell the Brainshark Communications Platform including the new Brainshark Gateway for PlaceWare in conjunction with its live web-based conferencing service.

Importing PlaceWare archives into the Brainshark application offers the PlaceWare user additional flexibility and new capabilities for using PlaceWare archives:

• Brainshark’s enhanced editing features make it easy for the average businessperson to edit and merge archives without requiring specialized digital media skills.
• Archives can be easily customized using Brainshark’s self-service authoring tools to change or append portions of the audio or visual content. This makes it easy to keep archives "fresh" with the most current information, or to customize presentations to targeted audiences.
• Brainsharks’ content management system provides enhanced control over archived assets. Archived content is organized in a customizable catalog with enhanced search and retrieval capabilities. Companies can also easily administer archives in order to grant and revoke viewing and administrative capabilities.
• Users can deliver archived content to external and internal audiences as easily as sending a URL link through an email, and only a web browser and industry standard media players or a telephone is required to experience the content.

"Customers are looking for additional ways to leverage the communications they deliver each day using PlaceWare. By combining our leadership in the real-time web conferencing and collaboration arena with Brainshark’s leadership and expertise in on-demand web communications, both our customers will realize a greater return on their investment," said Barry James Folsom, CEO of PlaceWare.

"Companies today are embracing PlaceWare as they realize the impact that web conferencing can have in increasing productivity and reducing costs. By adding Brainshark’s capabilities, PlaceWare customers realize an even greater impact by being able to leverage their knowledge content many times over across the organization as well as externally to their customers, prospects, and partners," said Joe Gustafson, CEO of Brainshark.

The Brainshark Gateway for PlaceWare is sold as an added option to a Brainshark Communications Platform license and is currently available.

About PlaceWare, Inc.

PlaceWare is the leading provider of web conferencing services that enable businesses to conduct real-time, interactive presentations and meetings over the Internet. With PlaceWare's hosted meeting services or high touch event services, business professionals can meet with more people in less time through sharing and exchanging information in real-time with anyone around the world using only a web browser and a phone. PlaceWare offers a complete family of services that can accommodate business needs for small collaborative meetings to thousands of participants. Many of PlaceWare's 2200+ corporate customers operate globally in a wide range of industries including high technology, financial services and professional services. PlaceWare was named "Computerworld’s Top Emerging Companies to Watch for 2002" and winner of the Brandon Hall Award for eLearning services. For more information about PlaceWare, visit www.placeware.com.

About Brainshark, Inc.

Brainshark, Inc. is the leading provider of rich-media solutions that enable companies to communicate business knowledge quickly and consistently. The Brainshark Communications Platform empowers the average business professional to create, manage, and share on-demand presentations that combine voice, text, graphics, and business documents. With its enterprise-class content management, security, and standards-based API’s, Brainshark is the choice of global companies to communicate faster and more effectively with their employees, customers and partners. Companies are increasing revenue and reducing cost using Brainshark solutions for sales, marketing, training, and corporate communications. For more information, visit www.brainshark.com.