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"The Power of Latinos" Emerges With the Launch of MiGente.com
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October 16, 2000

Community Connect Inc., publisher of AsianAvenue.com and BlackPlanet.com, adds MiGente.com to its leading network of ethnic online communities

New York, NY -- Community Connect Inc. (www.CommunityConnect.com), a top 50 Web property, according to Nielsen//NetRatings, announces the launch of MiGente.com, an online community for U.S. Hispanics. The addition of MiGente.com to Community Connect Inc.'s two other sites, AsianAvenue.com and BlackPlanet.com, positions it as the leading online company focused on marketing to the untapped ethnic minority audience.

MiGente.com (www.MiGente.com) will target Latinos who prefer to surf the Internet in English, an audience who accounts for some 92% of online Latino population according to a recent survey by Research & Research. After seeing its first two properties become the number one sites for their respective demographics in unique users, pageviews and stickiness, Community Connect Inc. CEO Benjamin Sun has a similar vision for MiGente.com. "By adding MiGente.com to our growing network of online communities, we have made Community Connect the premier media channel for reaching the emerging ethnic markets in the United States," he says.

According to estimates by The U.S. Bureau of Census, the combined minority population in the U.S. totals nearly 79 million people -- with Latinos representing 32.5 million. A recent survey by independent research firm CyberDialogue found that ethnic Web surfers represent a total online market of $20 billion. Companies such as Amazon.com, General Motors, Hewlett-Packard, Miramax, Ralston-Purina, RCN and the US Army, have taken the opportunity to advertise and market to this audience via the Community Connect Inc. network.

Community Connect's first two websites - AsianAvenue.com and BlackPlanet.com - each log an average of 110 million and 200 million pageviews per month, respectively. The traffic places Community Connect in the company of such well-known properties as CNET, iVillage, and Google. AsianAvenue.com and BlackPlanet.com have each registered more than one million members, making them among the largest registration-based media properties for their target audiences.

Independent studies, such as a recent one done by customer relationship management firm Cyber Dialogue, point to the importance of the online ethnic minority audience. Cyber Dialogue found that ethnic users are more likely to embrace convergence technologies (such as Interactive TV) than the average Web user, placing ethnic users on the leading edge of new media usage.

"Community Connect gives us a chance to reach an audience that was previously very difficult to pursue with traditional media," says Art Price, Multicultural Marketing Manager for Hewlett-Packard. "With this population expected to grow rapidly in the next few years, we've realized the value in gaining the loyalty and trust of this audience.

About MiGente.com
US: Latinos. With a total population of more than 32 million and buying power of more than $383 billion, Internet.com estimates that Latinos will increase their presence on the Internet by 50% by the year 2002. MiGente.com provides members with the same free personal page, chat and forum tools as its successful sister sites, AsianAvenue.com and BlackPlanet.com, with focused and relevant editorial content for the US Latino community.

About Community Connect Inc.
Founded in 1996, Community Connect creates and builds the leading interactive online communities targeted toward ethnic affinity groups. These online communities offer end-users a new and dynamic medium to communicate and interact with those of similar backgrounds and interests. Community Connect is committed to creating online communities that enable people to establish relationships, improve communication and gain access to important information and services. Community Connect has built and currently operates AsianAvenue.com for the Asian American community, BlackPlanet.com for the African American community, and MiGente.com for the U.S. Latino community.