MICROSOFT CELEBRATES CENTURIES OF OFFICE INNOVATION

Every Four Seconds Someone Discovers
The World of Innovation in Microsoft Office

REDMOND, WASH. - MAY 21, 1996 - Time for the 2 p.m. project status meeting?
Check the sundial. Need to run some numbers for the monthly sales report?
Get out the abacus. While today's business worker is more likely to send
an e-mail message via the Internet than fire off a telegram from the local
mercantile, continuous innovations like these have made it possible for
today's business person to get his or her work done faster and more easily
than ever before. Today, Microsoft Corp. launches a fun online contest to
pay tribute to these significant innovations and to thank the 22 million
users of MicrosoftR Office for helping make productivity software suites
one of the most significant innovations in modern business.

Contest participants are invited to explore a world of office innovation
and enter a drawing to win innovative computer accessories. Along the way,
entrants will learn about recent software innovations in Microsoft Office
applications and have an opportunity to download the latest Internet tools
for Word, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Access, the PowerPointR presentation
graphics program and Schedule+. The contest can be accessed from the
Microsoft Office home page at
HTTP://MICROSOFT.COM/MSOFFICE/CONTEST/INNOVATION/. The contest will run
until noon on June 6, the last day of the WindowsR World trade show in
Chicago. Show attendees will have the opportunity to enter the contest at
several hands-on computer stations in the Microsoft Windows World booth.

In addition to the contest, Microsoft will host a celebration during
Windows World to thank customers for the success of Microsoft Office and
for the role they have played in the advancement of innovations in
Microsoft productivity applications. The celebration will be held on
Tuesday, June 4, at the Chicago Museum of Science and Industry.
Invitations to the event will be distributed on Monday, June 3, and
Tuesday, June 4, at Windows World during theater presentations to be given
in the Microsoft trade-show booth. This reception will feature
entertainment, food, additional prize drawings and several hands-on
computer stations where attendees can experience the latest innovations in
Microsoft Office, such as the Office Internet Assistants - tools that
allow users of Office to create documents for the Internet using the
software they know and use every day.

Microsoft's desktop innovations are the result of a rich history of working
closely with customers to develop tools that address their needs. "The
type of solutions we have implemented at United Way would not have been
possible without the innovative advancements of Office for Windows 95,"
said Jim Ball, president, United Way of Benton and Franklin counties,
Wash.

As the first software company to offer a complete suite of business
productivity applications, Microsoft has continued to provide software
innovations in Microsoft Office for millions of customers around the
world. Key innovations in the history of Office include the following:

* ANSWER WIZARD, which accepts a user's questions, interprets those
questions, and then takes the user to the appropriate Help topics

* DESKTOP APPLICATION SUITE, the first to offer an integrated collection of
full-featured applications to make it easier to buy, install and use the
applications together

* MICROSOFT OFFICE BINDERS, a new file type that allows users to
consolidate into one file documents from various Office applications
(including Office Compatible) that support DocObject technology

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 business 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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