Sony Forms European Internet Software Company

[May 4] Sony Europe GmbH
and Sony DADC Austria AG
announced Thursday that they have jointly formed a new Internet
software company called Sony NetServices GmbH.

The new company will provide consulting and Web design services,
complete with full implementation of network business solutions
running on the Internet, mobile telephone, and Digital TV.

Otto Zich, chairman and chief executive officer of Sony Europe,
said Sony NetServices is an important European initiative for
his company and would help to deepen its understanding of the
Internet.

“The new company will contribute toward building up the know-how
we need to become a major player in Internet services in the
future,” said Zich.

Sony NetServices starts with around twenty e-commerce applications,
including online shops for the entertainment industry and an
auction platform that works on mobile telephones as well as
the Internet.

Managers at Sony believe that the most promising services
in the business-to-consumer segment are online promotion;
shops for both physical products like CDs and virtual products
such as music clips; and a service named Traffic Booster
designed to increase traffic to a Web page.

In the business-to-business segment, Sony says it has some
strong backbone solutions for ordering, dealer support and
supplier auctions.

In Europe, for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2000, Sony’s
sales were nearly 14.42 billion euros ($13 billion).