VIACOM NEW MEDIA ZOOPS THE WEB AGAIN WITH JAVA-POWERED DEMO! GAMING FANS CAN DEMO ZOOP IN REAL TIME USING WEB BROWSERS SUPPORTING JAVA

NEW YORK — Feb. 28, 1996 — Viacom New Media has Zooped the Web again.

A real-time demo of the game developed using Sun Microsystems Inc.'s innovative Java programming language is now available on the World Wide Web. The announcement was made Wednesday my Michele DiLorenzo, president, Viacom New Media, a unit of Viacom Inc. The instantly playable single-level demo can be found on the ZOOP home page (http://www.zoop.com) or via Viacom New Media's World Wide Web site (http://www.viacomnewmedia.com).

Additionally, more than 95,000 copies of a three-level downloadable ZOOP demo have been accessed from the ZOOP home page.

"We've already had phenomenal success placing our downloadable ZOOP demo on the Web," said DiLorenzo. "It's been a terrific way to get people to try ZOOP. Now with one of the hottest Java-powered applets on the Web, we'll drive even more traffic to our site.

"Internet travelers with the latest Web browsers won't have to wait to download files to satisfy their curiosity and play the game. We think that taking advantage of this latest technology can only leave consumers wanting more ZOOP excitement."

"The real-time ZOOP demo on Viacom New Media's Web site capitalizes on Java's innovative and elegant features. Java is simple, portable, multi-threaded and dynamic. And since Java is architecture-neutral, the demo is available to PC and Mac users alike," said Ruth Hennigar, general manager, Language and Applications at JavaSoft, an operating company of Sun Microsystems.

Only those Web surfers with browsers that include the Java technology, such as Netscape 2.0b3, will be able to try the demo, though anyone can download the earlier demo.

The ZOOP home page also features strategy hints, screen shots, video and audio clips. Java aficionados can find additional applets by exploring Viacom New Media's World Wide Web site. Lively, animated icons on a floating navigation bar allow Web users with browsers incorporating Hot Java technology access to various areas of the site without searching for hotlinks in the text or on the bottom of each page.

A click on the "chatting mouth" icon takes users seeking the latest information straight to the "Buzz" section. A "blinking eyeball" icon links to the search function, and a "waving hand" offers help.

ZOOP has been garnering rave reviews since its debut in October and has just been named a finalist in the Best Strategy Software category for the Software Publishers Association's prestigious 1996 Codie Awards. Simple to learn yet impossible to master, the game challenges men, women and kids regardless of their level of gameplay skills.

Players must act fast and think even faster to defend ZOOP's center square. They fire against advancing rows of multi-colored, fast-moving shapes that simultaneously approach from four different directions. ZOOP taunts and challenges with shapes that change color and a clever background visual deception — called Opti-Challenge — that forces the eye to look one way as approaching shapes invade from other directions.

ZOOP is currently available for PC diskette, Macintosh diskette, PlayStation, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Game Boy, Sega Genesis and Sega Game Gear. In addition, Viacom New Media has licensed ZOOP on additional platforms including Atari Jaguar and Tiger Electronics Handheld. Internationally, ZOOP is available at retail on five platforms: PC diskette, Macintosh diskette, Super Nintendo Entertainment System, Nintendo Game Boy and Sega MegaDrive.

Some of the most creative talents in game development and design joined forces in the development of ZOOP. Peter Tattersall and Jason McGann, directors of the U.K.-based game design company Hookstone Ltd., created, designed and developed the simple, fun, non-violent concept for ZOOP.

Sandra Higashi and Byron Glaser, a renowned Virginia-based graphic design team known for their fresh, imaginative and striking "pop art" designs, created the stylized background graphics.

ZOOP is a trademark of Viacom. Java and Hot Java are trademarks of Sun Microsystems.

Viacom New Media product is distributed across Europe by CIC. With headquarters in London, CIC is a joint venture of Paramount Pictures and MCA Inc., serving as both companies' international video distribution organization. CIC currently distributes Paramount's video products through its subsidiaries and licensees worldwide, excluding the United States and Canada. Paramount Pictures is a unit of Viacom Inc.

In addition to ZOOP, Viacom New Media's 1995 line-up includes the best-selling MTV'S BEAVIS AND BUTT-HEAD IN VIRTUAL STUPIDITY, CONGO: THE MOVIE — DESCENT INTO ZINJ and MTV UNPLUGGED, for CD-ROM, and PHANTOM 2040 for SNES, Sega Genesis and Sega Game Gear. Its award-winning kids' product line was recently joined by NICK JR. PLAY MATH! and THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD, for CD-ROM, and AAAHH!!! REAL MONSTERS for SNES and Sega Genesis.

This year's schedule of Viacom New Media titles includes STAR TREK: DEEP SPACE NINE HARBINGER, the cyber classic SNOW CRASH and cult favorite AEON FLUX.

Viacom New Media, a unit of Viacom Interactive Media, is a publisher of interactive entertainment software for Viacom.