Thursday, 1st March, 2001

Fastest growing e-commerce business in U.S. history launches in the UK with keen.co.uk
MORI survey shows nearly nine in ten of the British would rather talk to a person than turn to the Internet for advice and information

Today the European operations of Keen - the fastest growing e-commerce business in U.S. history - announces its UK launch with keen.co.uk. The launch coincides with the results of a survey carried out by MORI, which found that nearly nine in ten (88%) of the British public would still rather talk to another person in their search for advice and information than connect to the Internet, despite the growth of new search engines.

Keen provides live, immediate advice for everyday life connecting people over the telephone (bringing together KeenSeekers, those looking for information or advice, to KeenSpeakers who give it). By simply clicking on a "Call Now" icon in keen.co.uk, you are connected for a live immediate conversation on anything from how to make a perfect crème Brulée to how to fill out your tax return or how to cope with stress. The KeenSpeakers set their own price for the information.

The results of the survey conducted for Keen by MORI show some remarkable facts on how the British search for information and advice. They also clearly support the market opportunity for a service that connects people to their own personal advisor. Six in ten of the British public feels the need to go to people outside their friends and family for advice on a variety of different issues. Furthermore, as noted above, nearly nine in ten (88%) of people would rather turn to a person than the Internet as their trusted source of advice and information. The reasons they gave were that talking to a person gave them reassurance and confidence in the advice as well as feeling that they needed to ask many questions to get their points or questions across. With the depth of information available via new Internet search engines, these results are all the more remarkable. Even among the Internet population, more than four out of five Internet users (83%) say they would choose talking to a person experienced in a particular area rather than search the Internet.

This new concept has proved to be an enormous success in the US, where the business has over two million registered users and revenues have grown exponentially on a month on month basis. Keen is pioneering the People to People (P2P) market, which has been estimated to grow to $6 billion by 2005*. In essence, Keen gives ordinary people the ability to get and give clear and immediate advice on a vast array of subjects. The European operation is an independent joint venture between the original US business, Keen and Benchmark Capital, one of Silicon Valley's leading venture capital firms, who has invested $15 million in the European rollout. Keen.co.uk will have the benefit of access to the global Keen marketplace - Keen has already connected calls to over 120 countries, however the UK service will be tailored to the UK culture.

Paul Strzelecki, CEO Keen Europe says, "We firmly believe that the UK offers a huge opportunity for Keen as highlighted by the results of the MORI survey. The research confirmed that 20 million British say they would welcome the opportunity to share advice if such a service were available and also that 59% of people want to expand their network of personal advisers. The immediacy of the answer is incredibly compelling to consumers, creating a completely new business proposition. This business is an example of true Internet telephony convergence. I am convinced that the best advice comes from individuals' life experience and is delivered by a conversation. It's the way humans work - we've been doing it since before electricity let alone the Internet."

Professor Robert M Worcester, Chairman of MORI commented, "People trust people. The survey for Keen clearly shows that even though the Internet has changed people's lives, it fundamentally does not change the way people search for advice and information as well as their need to talk to one another."

About Keen
Keen, Your Personal Advisor, provides live, immediate advice for everyday life. Accessible through www.keen.com and 1-800-ASK-KEEN in the US, and www.keen.co.uk in the U.K., consumers get advice on a wide range of topics live over the phone. And since Keen makes the phone call, consumers get the advice they're looking for without revealing phone numbers or other personal information. Anyone who wants to give advice can join Keen's community of Speakers for free, by creating a listing that describes the information and advice they wish to provide. KeenSpeakers set their own price per minute fee; some members are making over $2,000 per week in the US! Quality advice is ensured through Keen's consumer-based feedback and rating system, as well as through the credential verification service. Keen has raised over $109 million in the US from prestigious investors and strategic partners. These investors include Amerindo Investment Advisors, Attractor Investment Management, Benchmark Capital, CNET, Deutsche Banc Alex. Brown, eBay, Impact Venture Partners, Inktomi, Innovation Investments, Integral Capital, Merrill Lynch, Microsoft, Pivotal Asset Management, Pyramid Technology Ventures, L.P. and Vulcan Ventures.

Keen Europe
Keen Europe is the independent joint venture between Keen, the original US business and Benchmark Capital bringing this concept to Europe. Benchmark Capital has invested $15m in the European rollout of Keen Europe. For more information on Keen Europe, visit the web site at www.keen.co.uk.

Paul Strzelecki, CEO, Keen Europe
Paul Strzelecki has a highly successful track record with a number of world-class high technology businesses including Motorola, Texas Instruments, Inmos/SGS Thomson Microelectronics and Marconi. He most recently served as the Managing Director of a European Internet start-up focusing on community and entertainment within the Sony Corporation. Before this, Strzelecki was appointed a Vice President and a European General Manager of Motorola and personally negotiated what was, at the time, the world's largest Mobile telephone infrastructure contract. He was also responsible for the management and installation of over thirty cellular networks (GSM, Analog and CDMA) and represented the company on EU committees. His extensive European and worldwide senior experience will prove invaluable to Keen Europe, whose business ethos is grounded in people to people communication.

*Source: Datamonitor 2000

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