THE NEW INTERNET INTERVIEW AND CYBER FORUM, PREMIERES

After New Hampshire, Ellerbee Asks Senator Bill Bradley, Tabitha Soren,
Paul Tsongas and You: "Is Politics as Usual Killing Our Democracy?"

NEW YORK, - February 15, 1996 - "Is Politics As Usual Killing Our
Democracy?" is the premiere topic of "ENCARTA ON THE RECORD," the new
Internet interview show and cyber forum hosted by award-winning journalist
Linda Ellerbee, which debuts February 21.

Coming one day after the New Hampshire primary -- the first bout in what
promises to be a year of political slugfests -- ENCARTA ON THE RECORD will
enable audience participants to go "on the record" with questions and
comments to be directed at Senator Bill Bradley, journalist Tabitha Soren
and former Senator Paul Tsongas.

These guests represent three important and distinct perspectives. Bradley,
who is on the record as saying "politics is broken" and may be the
appealing third party Presidential candidate for a growing number of
disaffected voters, provides the real inside look at how politics work.
Soren, the chief political correspondent for MTV, can comment with
personal insight about the highly influential under 30 voting block, which
has had significant impact on the outcome of the last two Presidential
elections. Finally, Tsongas, always a leader in the area of political
reform, is trying to take the country back from the left and right
extremes and return it to what he terms the passionate center.

Ellerbee, guests, live audience and cyber participants will look at the
ugly turn politics has taken in the United States, such as:

-- politicians' responsibility toward truthful, moral behavior;

-- the casualties involved in running for office and what this suggests
about the quality of the officials representing the nation;

-- the significance behind a record number of congressmen's decision to
retire;

-- the publics' role and responsibility in accepting and rejecting the
status quo; and

-- the implications today's political environment will have on a new
generation of voters.

"In this inaugural show, ENCARTA ON THE RECORD offers an invaluable
opportunity for the public to probe issues that are at the crux of our
country's political future. I expect we will stir up a lot of discussion
-- and probably prompt audience members to start asking a lot more
questions. And a questioning public is good for our democracy," enthused
Linda Ellerbee.

Beginning today, users can log on to the ENCARTA ON THE RECORD web site at
http://www.microsoft.com/Encarta and begin posting questions and
responding to polls about the show's topic. They can gain access to myriad
materials including a written point-of-view piece by the newsmaker guest,
background articles from Encarta Encyclopedia, Encarta Yearbook Builder,
and hot-links to other web sites.

The subject of political trust and ethics ranks among the top four issues
that Americans believe to be most relevant to them, according to a 1995
Gallup poll. The majority of the Gallup respondents also revealed that
they believe news events would be even more relevant to them if they
understood their context and background. In fact, over half of all
respondents agreed they would like to know more about the news events of
the last year, and if they could customize how they receive their
information, they would probe deeper into these news stories. ENCARTA ON
THE RECORD's goal is to bring people to this new level of assimilating
current events.

"The show will put a rich repository of background information immediately
at users' fingertips, enabling participants to understand the events
taking place in the world today from a broader context. It allows each
person to make the news event or contemporary issue being discussed
totally relevant to them in a way that is truly unique to each person,"
says Ann Fenner, Managing Editor, Encarta Encyclopedia.

How it Works:

At 9:00 p.m. EST, a 30-minute warm-up discussion will allow users on the
Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia web site as well as the live audience at
New York City's @Cafe to ask questions, post comments on this month's
question and participate in a poll.

At 9:30 p.m. EST, ENCARTA ON THE RECORD will "log on live." Following the
live discussion, a full transcript from the show including, audio, photos
and audience poll results will be posted on the Internet site, along with
the background information sources.

Microsoft Encarta is known as the leading and award-winning interactive,
multimedia encyclopedia. It is backed by a 25 person editorial staff of
researchers, editors and writers. ENCARTA ON THE RECORD is an extension of
Encarta Encyclopedia's new Yearbook Builder, an exciting new feature that
lets users download monthly articles from the World Wide Web (WWW) and
MSN&#153;, The Microsoft Network, and link them to Encarta Encyclopedia's
core CD-ROM content. At least one feature article, often written by an
authority on the subject, and approximately 40 updates are provided per
month, as well as maps, photos and illustrations.

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in
software for personal computers. The company offers a wide range of
products and services for businesses and personal use, each designed with
the mission of making it easier and more enjoyable for people to take
advantage of the full power of personal computing every day.
 
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