CHICAGO and BLUE BELL, Pa.-June 20, 2001-- Telephone directory publishers now can offer their advertisers even more effective advertising and communication methods through a partnership between the Telecommunications unit of R.R. Donnelley & Sons Company, and AirClic Inc., provider of a global, open platform that uses numbers with bar codes to help people navigate the Web with everyday mobile devices. R.R. Donnelley and AirClic will work together to provide bar code and related services to the publishers of yellow and white pages, enabling them to create interactive print advertisements linked to the Internet. This service will allow directory users to easily access detailed information on a product or service advertised and execute transactions via an array of mobile devices. R.R. Donnelley is the designated reseller of Scanlets(TM), AirClic's proprietary bar codes, for the directory publishing industry. "We strive to help directory customers make their communications more effective,'' said Ronald Daly, president of R.R. Donnelley's Telecommunications unit. "The benefits of this technology and our partnership with AirClic bring us even closer to revolutionizing the way buyers and sellers communicate with each other through directories. Facilitating interactive media is an essential addition to the existing integrated services we offer - from content creation and premedia to printing and distribution.'' By incorporating a Scanlet into the design of the advertisement, directory advertisers provide a link to information about themselves on the Internet. This helps to make the directory dynamic, enabling consumers to link to sales promotions, contests and announcements about new products or services, or to execute transactions like purchases, reservations or appointments. "R.R. Donnelley will revolutionize the benefits customers can get from yellow pages globally,'' said Phillip Riese, chief executive officer of AirClic Inc. "Today, for example, if you need to make an appointment to have your car serviced you find a repair shop in the yellow pages and call. With AirClic's technology through the yellow pages, you'll be able to find the nearest repair shop, know whether they do the work you are looking for, and over time, make the appointment or perhaps find out that there's also a special on tires that week. In this way, AirClic and R.R. Donnelley will bring a new level of utility to directories.'' Today, customers can access these services by scanning codes or entering the numbers associated with them through many mobile devices: mobile phones, personal computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), as well as a range of small, mobile consumer scanning devices available for purchase through the AirClic Web site. Under this arrangement, AirClic will supply the global infrastructure necessary to link print to the Internet including the registry that links codes to URLs, rendering capabilities so that Web pages can be viewed on virtually any mobile device, and a range of other business services. R.R. Donnelley will deliver this to their directory publishers via their Web-based advertising code management system that offers a user-friendly way to create and enhance Web and wireless application protocol (WAP) services with dynamic marketing-focused and general information about the advertiser. This system will help advertisers communicate rich, action-oriented content to consumers via bar code links in print media, increasing the adoption and usage of bar code advertising.