MORE THAN 30 MILLION USERS MAKE MICROSOFT EXCEL THE WORLD'S MOST POPULAR
SPREADSHEET PROGRAM

Microsoft Responds to Customers With No-Charge Product Enhancements

REDMOND, WASH. - MAY 20, 1996 - More than 30 million people worldwide now
use MicrosoftR Excel, making it the most popular spreadsheet of all time.
This figure averages more than five new users of Microsoft Excel per
minute since the product's introduction in September 1985. To recognize
the contribution customers of Microsoft Excel have made to the success of
the product, Microsoft Corp. today announced a set of no-charge product
add-in enhancements that extend Microsoft Excel functionality to the
Internet and simplify complex tasks. Users can download the new add-ins
immediately from the Microsoft Excel World Wide Web site, located at
HTTP://MICROSOFT.COM/MSEXCEL/.

More than 30 million users worldwide rely on the robust functionality and
intuitive design of Microsoft Excel to help them analyze and understand
data. According to Allan Frank, chief technology officer of KPMG Peat
Marwick LLP, "Microsoft Excel is now the spreadsheet of choice for our
business. It is an analytical engine that is both powerful and easy to
use, and it has become a vital tool for us in productive client service
delivery."

Microsoft attributes the spreadsheet's success to its customers. User
feedback, drawn from Microsoft's ongoing usability testing and research,
guides development and shapes priorities for new features and new
technologies.

"Our best product consultants are our customers," said Jon Reingold,
general manager of the Microsoft Excel business unit. "We're very excited
to have 30 million people who can help us make Microsoft Excel an even
better spreadsheet."

Responding to customer requests, Microsoft developed a number of no-charge
product add-ins to enhance the functionality of Microsoft Excel, including
the following:

* MICROSOFT EXCEL VIEWER (available for Microsoft Excel for the Windows 95
operating system only) for viewing spreadsheets over the Internet

* FILE CONVERSION WIZARD (not compatible with Microsoft Excel 5.0 for
Macintosh) for batch conversion of multiple competitive files

* LOOKUP WIZARD for quick access to data on large worksheets INTERNET
ASSISTANT FOR MICROSOFT EXCEL that easily converts Microsoft Excel files
into HTML

Users can download these add-ins immediately from the Free Software area of
the Microsoft Excel home page, located at HTTP://MICROSOFT.COM/MSEXCEL/.

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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