GE AND NETSCAPE FORM JOINT VENTURE

NEW COMPANY TO DEVELOP INTERNET SOFTWARE FOR BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS
ELECTRONIC COMMERCE

ROCKVILLE, MD and MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. (April 10, 1996) -- GE Information
Services (GEIS) and Netscape Communications Corporation today announced
they have established a joint venture that will develop and market
software for Internet-based business-to-business electronic commerce.
Benefiting from GE Information Services' market expertise as the world's
leading provider of business-to-business electronic commerce services, and
Netscape's leading position in developing and marketing software for the
Internet, the joint venture is expected to play a pivotal role in making
it possible for companies to easily use the Internet and intranets for
core business transactions, thereby increasing their productivity. The
company will also take an active role in promoting the development of open
standards for business-to-business electronic commerce. The joint venture,
named Actra Business Systems L.L.C., will be located in Mountain View,
California.

"Businesses stand to benefit enormously from the products of this joint
venture," said Hellene Runtagh, president and CEO of GE Information
Services. "Through Internet technologies, the great productivity gains of
business-to-business electronic commerce that are currently enjoyed by
some corporations will be made available to both large and small
corporations."

"Netscape is committed to helping the corporate market reap the benefits of
the Internet and intranets," said Jim Barksdale, president and CEO of
Netscape. "By working with GE on this joint venture we hope to extend the
Internet's benefits to business-to-business commerce. Actra Business
Systems opens tremendous new business opportunities and is ideally
positioned to take the lead in spearheading the development and
distribution of new applications that meet the very specific needs of
business-to-business commerce transacted over the Internet."

Approximately 100,000 companies use EDI (electronic document interchange),
a key component of business-to-business electronic commerce. According to
Forrester Research, that number represents only 5 percent of businesses
that could benefit from the technology. By providing tools and
applications that facilitate the use of the Internet and intranets by
corporations, both large and small, Netscape and GEIS hope to expand the
rapid adoption of EDI and other applications for business-to-business
commerce.

Actra Business Systems' mission is to develop these software applications,
designed specifically to run over the Internet and intranets. These
applications can help companies to reduce costs, decrease cycle times and
improve quality in core business functions. Initial product development
will focus on two key areas:

* a business document gateway to facilitate the exchange of EDI and
messages between a business and its trading partners; and

* a suite of server software products focusing on purchasing and supplier
management, EDI, electronic product catalogs and Internet client software
technology to streamline sourcing, ordering, purchasing, and the payment
process from the buyer, agent, and seller sides.

Plans call for the first new applications to be available early in 1997.
The joint venture plans to distribute its products through electronic
commerce service providers, consulting firms, GEIS and Netscape. The
company's initial staff will be drawn from both GE Information Services
and Netscape. Jim Sha, senior vice president, new ventures at Netscape,
will serve as the acting CEO. GE Information Services and Netscape each
hold a 50 percent interest in the company.

Netscape Communications Corporation is a leading provider of open software
for linking people and information over enterprise networks and the
Internet. The company offers a full line of clients, servers, development
tools, and commercial applications to create a complete platform for
next-generation, live on-line applications. Traded on NASDAQ under the
symbol "NSCP," Netscape Communications Corporation is based in Mountain
View, California.

GE Information Services is a leading supplier of business productivity
solutions, combining electronic commerce services, inter-business process
consulting, and trading community management. GE Information Services
supports the world's largest trading community of over 40, 000 companies,
helping them improve their productivity in purchasing/supplier management,
logistics, and marketing and distribution channel management. GE
Information Services is one of the 12 key businesses of the General
Electric Company, U.S.A.

Additional information on Netscape Communications Corporation is available
on the Internet at http://home.netscape.com, by sending e-mail to
info@netscape.com or by calling 415/528-2555 (corporate users) or
415/528-3777 (individuals).

This press release and information about GE Information Services is
available on the Internet at http://www.geis.com or by sending email to
info@geis.geis.com.
 
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