SAN JOSE, Calif., (March 26, 2001) (Nasdaq:ADBE)-- Adobe Systems Incorporated, the leader in network publishing, today announced Adobe® Atmosphere™ software, a new professional Web tool for authoring, viewing and interacting with immersive, virtual 3-D worlds. The new product allows designers to create graphically rich, true-to-life 3-D worlds, enabling end-users to virtually "walk the Web" and communicate in real-time for a richer, more realistic Web experience. A public beta will be immediately available for download from the Adobe Web site. Virtual 3-D worlds have the potential to radically transform the Web experience æ especially in the areas of e-retail, education, entertainment, exploration, and communication æ by allowing end users to explore the virtual 3-D world and communicate with each other. Adobe Atmosphere will enable designers to deliver visually rich, personalized content in a compelling, immersive experience. The Atmosphere browser is powered by the Viewpoint Media Player, which provides its ultra-high fidelity object display and animation capabilities. The Viewpoint Media Player is the rich media platform already used by Sony, Nike, Eddie Bauer and numerous other world class brands. With the release of Adobe Atmosphere, their content can now be seamlessly viewed and experienced within immersive 3-D worlds. This collaboration is the first project resulting from Adobe's investment in Viewpoint (Nasdaq:VWPT) last year. "Adobe is known for delivering innovative tools that enable designers to take their creativity to new heights. Now, Adobe Atmosphere adds an entirely new dimension to the Web experience æ the third dimension," said Bruce Damer, principal of DigitalSpace Corporation and author of Avatars (PeachPit Press, 1998). "Today, browsing a site means clicking on document links and doing simple searches. In the near future, browsing a site will mean walking though 3-D room spaces, speaking with other visitors or site representatives, and seeing animated objects in real-time and in a more life-like setting. Imagine the implication this holds for something like collaboration and education —we'll see a complete transformation of what it means to be in cyberspace."