Media Kit: Press Releases

LYCOS SHOWCASES FREE ONLINE INTERACTIVE "GAME SHOW" COMMUNITY WITH DEBUT OF CATCHUP COVERALL™ ON GAMESVILLE.COM

WALTHAM, Mass. - Dec. 17, 2008 - Lycos, Inc., a leading provider of social publishing, media and search services, today announced the debut of the all-new CatchUp CoverAll™ on Gamesville.com, the web's premier destination for free, massively multiplayer online game shows. But unlike TV game shows, where only a handful of gamers play while the rest of the world watches, Gamesville game shows let everyone play together in real-time.

CatchUp CoverAll is a free, massively multiplayer online game show where thousands of people can compete in real-time to completely cover one bingo card and take home a cash jackpot worth up to one thousand dollars. CatchUp CoverAll is the first online massively multiplayer game to also feature Community Cash Winnings: When one lucky player wins the progressive jackpot, up to four other players with the same "Lucky Ball" as the jackpot winner can each take home a bonus $25 cash prize.

"Bingo is a very social, very communal, massively multiplayer experience," said Christopher Cummings, senior product manager for Gamesville. "In CatchUp CoverAll, it's not just about you or one of your friends winning big money. Now, each jackpot win is a chance for the entire community to share in the experience of winning."

Like TV game shows, CatchUp CoverAll is free to play, awards prizes to winners, and is supported by sponsors. However, unlike TV, in Gamesville's CatchUp CoverAll, everyone competes to win real cash. The interactive nature of Gamesville also includes chat functionality allowing gamers to create buddy lists to befriend other gamers who share similar interests in a safe, friendly environment.

Also similar to TV game shows, Gamesville is ad-supported, featuring video ads like traditional TV commercials. But unlike TV ads, Gamesville ads provide the immediate ability to act upon the advertiser's message and track the audience reaction to the message in real-time.

"Our Gamesville members are very responsive to the video ads since they appear in between games and they understand that advertising during game breaks makes it possible for us to keep our games free to play," Cummings added. "Advertisers are also attracted to Gamesville due to our reach and frequency and our ability to leverage technology and campaigns from the leading video ad agencies including Tremor, Broadband Enterprises, and Advertising.com." Current Gamesville video ads from leading consumer brands include Hershey's® Kisses®, Mucinex® DM, Airwick®, and Wal-Mart®, among others.

Earlier this year, Gamesville re-launched their classic online game show, Bingo Zone®, and launched a new subscription service called GV Gold. Gamesville's premium service, GV Gold, offers players a variety of ways to win big prizes (including automatic double jackpots in CatchUp CoverAll) and features game play with no ad interruptions, members-only rooms, exclusive avatar costumes and items, and more--all for $24.95 per year, or less than seven cents per day.