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ASIANAVENUE.COM KICKS OFF FIFTH COLLEGE TOUR WITH A MISSION TO INCREASE POLITICAL AWARENESS IN THE ASIAN AMERICAN COMMUNITY
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September 13, 2000

New York, NY -- www.AsianAvenue.com, the largest and highest trafficked Asian American online community, launches its 5th college tour today. This year's tour takes on a new mission of encouraging civic participation among Asian American students through a partnership with APIA Vote 2000, a national coalition of nonpartisan and nonprofit organizations aimed at engaging the Asian Pacific American community. This promotional five-week tour will take AsianAvenue.com to 25 campuses all over North America.

"A true understanding of the electoral process and a firm grasp on important issues is an integral part of creating an Asian American political identity," said Christine Chen, national director of APIA Vote 2000. "Teaming up with AsianAvenue.com on this tour provides us with a great opportunity to reach a collegiate audience, helping us to better understand the future of our community."

As a joint effort, AsianAvenue.com and APIA Vote will be providing voter-registration services at each school. The site will also launch an exclusive Election 2000 content package, featuring interactive polls and interviews with some of the nation's highest-ranking politicos such as U.S. Secretary of Commerce Norman Mineta and Governor of Washington Gary Locke. Other editorial highlights include opinion pieces from high-profile Asian American activists such as Helen Zia and former California State Treasurer Matt Fong, celebrity sound bites from the likes of Lisa Ling (ABC's The View) and rising filmmaker Karen Kusama (Girlfight).

AsianAvenue.com sees the college tour as an opportunity to identify future members as well as interact with an audience that represents a large percentage of its membership.

"This bi-annual event guarantees a significant boost in site membership, but more importantly, it heightens awareness that the Asian American community is a vital presence both online and offline," said Benjamin Sun, president and CEO of Community Connect Inc., publisher of AsianAvenue.com. "These college tours allow us to bring our online community to life on each campus and also meet both new and old members."

The site's steady achievements and positive accomplishments have also drawn the support of sponsors such as Hewlett Packard, the primary sponsor of the tour, Staple Products, APIA Vote 2000 and Columbia Pictures. By signing on, each ratifies their belief in AsianAvenue.com's efforts with the collegiate population.

This year, in addition to co-hosting events on each campus through partnerships with various Asian American student organizations, AsianAvenue.com will also be promoting Plugged in 2, a second edition compilation CD. This CD features an eclectic mix of hip-hop, R&B, pop, spoken word and alternative sounds that celebrate the diversity of Asian American artistry and promote the emerging talent of the community.

About AsianAvenue.com
With close to one million members and generating more than 100 million pageviews each month, AsianAvenue.com is the largest and fastest growing interactive online community for Asian Americans. AsianAvenue.com combines state-of-the-art interactive tools with innovative editorial content. Members of AsianAvenue.com receive special features such as a free personalized homepage, email account, as well as access to online games, forums, chat rooms, special promotions, articles, breaking news and featured stories. AsianAvenue.com was named "Top Asian-American Network" on the Web, in Yahoo!'s Internet Life's Top 100 Sites for 2000.

About Community Connect Inc.
Community Connect Inc. creates and builds 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, Inc. is committed to creating online communities that enable people to establish relationships, improve communication, gain access to important information and services, and participate in community activities. Community Connect, Inc. plans to build additional online communities, positioning itself as the leading provider of online communities for ethnic affinity groups

About APIA Vote 2000
APIA Vote 2000 is a national coalition of nonpartisan, nonprofit organizations that encourages civic participation and promotes a better understanding of public policy and the electoral process among the Asian Pacific American community. Their objective is to effectively engage the APA community in the political process by coordinating outreach and educational activities and programs.