NEW YORK, Bowne & Co., Inc. (NYSE: BNE) announced today that its Internet consulting & development unit, Immersant Inc., is expanding its global offerings through the integration of Bowne Global Solutions' Content Business Unit (CBU). With the integration of the CBU, Immersant now offers a combined solution set that creates the unique ability to build, manage and maintain culturally-appropriate, personalized content for Web sites in virtually every major cultural market around the world. Robert M. Johnson, chairman and chief executive officer of Bowne & Co. said, "Content literally fuels the Web. The global expansion of the Internet promises to enable businesses to significantly expand consumer audiences, enhance brand recognition and greatly increase transaction levels - benefits that make the adoption of a global e-businesses strategy absolutely vital. By taking this step, Immersant now possesses the expertise to take our clients beyond the mere translation of their global Web sites. We can create, personalize and manage Web site and wireless content in diverse markets, thus enabling e-businesses to truly interact with and relate to customers from any culture." According to a recent survey by Jupiter Communications, nearly two-thirds of the 114 leading U.S. Web sites have taken little or no globalization initiative, in areas such as registering foreign domain names, providing culturally appropriate content, or ensuring consistent branding across diverse cultures. The result is that many companies are woefully unprepared for the gEconomy, which will see two-thirds of all Internet access initiated by people who live in diverse cultures outside the U.S by 2004. Immersant's new global solution enables its clients to attract, engage and retain online customers in every corner of the world by building complex business Web platforms that use local culture as the first dimension of personalization. By integrating complex Internet development resources with local cultural expertise, language capabilities and content creation and management skills, Immersant provides a truly global, personalized solution. Unlike other major Web development firms, the merger of Immersant and CBU puts the company in a unique position to rapidly build and manage global, locally relevant content that attracts, engages and retains customers, while also ensuring local brand integrity and consistency in real-time. By integrating CBU, Immersant now also possesses unmatched expertise dealing with complex issues such as language barriers, international taxes and commerce law, local regulatory requirements, global legacy system integration, and global resource management. Many other companies claim to have international presence, but none offer Immersant's degree of global-integration and ability to deliver globally aware Web solutions. "We have a deep understanding of technology implementation on a global scale, as well as the importance of aligning appropriate technologies with specific business goals and objectives. With our time-tested, robust global capabilities, we are now able to help Global 2000 e-businesses reach their global audience through a professionally managed Web site while simultaneously aligning to the language, culture and tastes of disparate global customers. We help companies evolve their online businesses from 'E' to 'G'-or, help them take their domestic online businesses to the global marketplace. We do all of this while also enforcing consistent brand integrity," concluded Carl Glaeser, CEO of both Immersant and Bowne Global Solutions and Senior Vice President of Bowne & Co.