SAN FRANCISCO, California and TORINO, Italy, October 11, 2000
VocalPoint Technologies, a voice technology company providing infrastructure to rapidly voice-enable Web content, announced today that Telecom Italia Group Research Center (CSELT) is integrating VocalPoint's unique HTML-browsing technology with its VoxNauta platform to roll out consumer-oriented voice portals that access content from many popular sites. VoxNauta is a technological tool which enables the construction and rapid deployment of multi-access voice portals.

Driven by VocalPoint's VoiceBrowser™ technology, Telecom Italia's VoxNauta application guarantees voice access to any Web site written in standard HTML code. Using any wireless or wireline telephone, users can listen to and respond to email and access stock portfolios and personalized Web sites using voice commands. The VocalPoint VoiceBrowser™ solution allows VoxNauta to offer the highest performance, scalability and extensibility possible – as well as the ability to adopt best-in-class technologies as they evolve.

VoxNauta also enables access to customized bookmarks that provide immediate voice access to frequently visited web pages. Voices are currently available in Italian and Spanish, in male and female versions, and English and German versions are close to completion.

Several of Telecom Italia's business units will be launching services in the fourth quarter of this year, addressing vertical market segments and the mass market to provide voice browsing applications to various groups of customers.

The VocalPoint Browser technology is highly scalable, and capable of supporting an extremely large customer base of 26.5 million wireline and 39 million wireless subscribers. The VocalPoint architecture allows easy integration with existing platforms and legacy IVR applications, and its "any site" capability gives users the ability to easily access their favorite Internet pages without requiring site modifications.

About Telecom Italia/CSELT
CSELT, founded in 1964, is the Telecom Italia Group facility for telecommunications and information technology research, development, experimentation and testing. Some 1,200 researchers are working on advanced scenarios, developing and testing innovative solutions and services. The research center has links with university research departments, and is strongly represented internationally. Internet services, data networks, wireless networks and services, voice synthesis and recognition, computer telephony integration and multimedia are just some of the main areas in which CSELT conducts its operations, promoting development of Telecom Italia's business units. Telecom Italia's Web address is www.telecomitalia.it/index.uk.html

About VocalPoint Technologies
VocalPoint Technologies provides middleware, infrastructure and services for businesses to rapidly voice-enable HTML and XML content, making it possible to access internet and intranet applications using natural speech over any phone. Its voice-based browser allows businesses to build customized, private-label voice portals and services by integrating VocalPoint's proprietary technology into their network infrastructure, or by utilizing VocalPoint's fully outsourced ASP (application service provider) solution. Incorporated in 1997, the company has leveraged its speech technology research expertise to create attractive voice-based solutions for businesses worldwide. Headquartered in San Francisco, Calif., VocalPoint Technologies can be reached at www.vocalpoint.com, or by calling 415.615.0600