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IR HOME > Press Room > Press Archive - 2004


SOHU Launches Strategic Wireless Services Cooperation With NEC

BEIJING, CHINA, February 26, 2004 - SOHU.COM Inc. (NASDAQ: SOHU), China's leading online media, communications, commerce and mobile value-added services company, and NEC (China) Co., Ltd, one of the world’s leading solutions providers for broadband networking and mobile Internet, today announced an exclusive agreement to bring copyrighted wireless ringtones on the Chinese market and pledged further cooperation in the Internet broadband content and wireless content business.

SOHU.COM and NEC are joining forces to expand the new business of building mobile phone value-added services in China based on NEC's experience with wireless Internet in other markets and SOHU’s brand strength and reach within the fast-expanding Internet and wireless consumer market. Under the terms of the agreement NEC will introduce unique copyrighted ringtones in China that mobile phone users can download from the SOHU SMS and MMS channels and transmit to their mobile phones by the wireless carriers China Mobile and China Unicom. These ringtones include renowned Japanese pop songs, J-POP and J-WAVE that already have a strong fan base among Chinese youth. The two companies plan to expand into additional wireless value-added services areas as well as online broadband content in the future.

With over 250 million mobile phone users China has already become the biggest cell phone market in the world. China’s discerning consumers demand the highest quality wireless value-added content and services to enhance the entertainment value of their mobile devices. SOHU SMS (http://sms.sohu.com) is a top value-added services provider in China working closely with the mobile carriers and cell phone manufacturers to bring the best-of-breed entertainment services, comprising of over 300 products, to Chinese consumers. In MMS services SOHU has emerged as a market leader, continuously developing products and services for MMS (http://mms.sohu.com) as well as for other 2.5G applications, such as Interactive Voice Response (IVR), WAP and K-Java, including exclusively branded content from the Walt Disney Internet Group.

Demand for quality interactive online content is rising as more Internet users in China are connecting via broadband services. By the end of 2003 10.7 million out of 80 million Internet users had subscribed to online broadband services offered by China’s fixed line telecom operators (China Telecom, China Netcom and China Railcom). The current growth trend of broadband services is expected to continue in coming years. Catering to this growing user base of broadband services, SOHU is expanding content offerings for broadband use, including the launch of a new Music Channel for broadband in January of 2004.

"SOHU is pleased to cooperate with NEC, a leading global content partner. The expression ‘Content is King’ applies in particular to MMS and other 2.5G applications. Exclusive branded and copyrighted products will help differentiate SOHU from the competition in wireless value-added services. By bringing the exciting Japanese music world into people’s handsets we believe SOHU and NEC will further promote Chinese wireless value added business among consumers," Mr. Victor Koo, COO of SOHU.COM, said.

"China is the focal point of our corporate strategy because of the tremendous opportunities the largest mobile communications market in the world and second largest Internet population in the word is offering companies like NEC. Chinese consumers are quick adopters of new technology, so we hope these unique ringtones will be well received by them. We trust we have embarked on a win-win strategic partnership with SOHU's capable management team to achieve our goals in the promising China market," Mr. Norihiko Kunishima, Associate Senior Vice President of NEC Corporation, said.

Safe Harbor Statement
This company's announcement contains forward-looking statements. It is currently expected the Business Outlook will not be updated until the release of SOHU's next quarterly earnings announcement; however, SOHU reserves the right to update its Business Outlook at any time for any reason. We may also make written or oral forward-looking statements in our periodic reports to the Securities and Exchange Commission on Forms 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, etc., in our annual report to shareholders, in our proxy statements, in press releases and other written materials and in oral statements made by our officers, directors or employees to third parties. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements about our beliefs and expectations, are forward-looking statements. These statements are based on current plans, estimates and projections, and therefore you should not place undue reliance on them.

Forward-looking statements involve inherent risks and uncertainties. We caution you that a number of important factors could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statement. Potential risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, SOHU's historical and possible future losses, limited operating history, uncertain regulatory landscape in the People's Republic of China, fluctuations in quarterly operating results, and the company's reliance on online advertising sales, e-subscriptions (most of which are collected from a few mobile telecom operators) and e-commerce for its revenues. Further information regarding these and other risks is included in SOHU's Annual Report on Form 10K for the year ended December 31, 2002, Quarterly Report on Form 10Q for the quarter ended September 30, 2003 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

About SOHU.com
SOHU.com is the leading Internet portal in Mainland China with current daily page views exceeding 12 million. It provides navigation/search, news, sports, business and finance, real estate channel, entertainment, chat, email and e-commerce activities for a solid and wide base of visitors. Dr. Charles Zhang founded SOHU.com in 1997. Its investors include Intel, Dow Jones, IDG, the Morningside China Group, PCCW, Legend and Hikari. Its content partners include CNET, DOW Jones and dozens of local media organizations in China.

For further information:
Dahlia Wei
SOHU Investor Relations and Communications
Tel: +86 10 6272 6598
E-mail: ir@sohu-inc.com
http://www.sohu.com/about/English/


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