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Deutsche Post and Adobe Collaborate on Internet Postage Service

Press release from the issuing company

BONN, Germany & UNTERSCHLEISSHEIM, Germany--Feb. 17, 2005-- Deutsche Post and Adobe Systems Incorporated today announced the delivery of STAMPIT WEB, a new Internet postage service that combines the power of the Web with the ubiquity of free Adobe Reader software. The new service will allow customers to prepay mail postage online. After purchase, the postage will be delivered to the customer as an Adobe PDF document that can be printed and affixed to an envelope. STAMPIT WEB builds on the already established Deutsche Post solutions STAMPIT HOME and BUSINESS, which have a combined installed base of 70,000 users. The new service, STAMPIT WEB, will make it possible to prepay postage online without installation of dedicated software. Initially Deutsche Post plans to launch a basic service in February as part of eBay Germany. After a successful auction, eBay sellers will be able to use the service for postage on their letters and small parcels. The service and scope of STAMPIT WEB will be expanded in later months with a dedicated website www.stampit.de. The STAMPIT WEB postage service is built on Adobe LiveCycle(TM) software for generating Intelligent Documents in PDF which include postage "stamps" that can be printed via Adobe Reader 6.02 and 7.0. "As part of the cooperation, we want to pool our expertise to encourage further development of the technology in the field of online franking," said Ingo Bohlken, Managing Director Product Management MAIL. "With the Reader, we are basing our technology on standard software that is installed on virtually every PC, allowing us to offer our customers a straightforward solution for Internet franking without the need to install special software." "STAMPIT WEB is an innovative solution that highlights how Adobe's Intelligent Document Platform enable companies to deliver customer-friendly and secure business processes online," said Fritz Fleischmann, managing director of Adobe Systems GmbH.