The Imperial Inter-Continental, Taipei selects MagiNet Corporation in bringing High Speed In-Room Internet & Email Access

The products, consisting of MagiNet Internet TV (MITV), MagiNet Laptop Connect (MLC) and Passport, will make the Imperial Inter-Continental Taipei the first hotel in Taiwan to offer MagiNet's in-room laptop connectivity technology and totally interactive TV. The Imperial will also be the first hotel worldwide to have Passport, an Internet portal available to laptop users and designed exclusively to the discerning tastes of international travelers.

The combination of MITV, MLC & Passport provides comprehensive, end-to-end coverage for both the business and leisure guest. Offering these products allows the Hotel to fully address the needs and expectations of both guest profiles.

MITV offers a revolutionary interactive experience which redefines in-room entertainment and information services. MITV works seamlessly through the hotel's existing video-on-demand system, and by bridging the gap between TV and the Internet, successfully marries these two divergent paradigms into a single integrated, interactive experience.

Of appeal to both the novice and Internet-savvy power user, MITV is an Internet "portal", consisting of twelve Menu categories carefully selected to match the interests of international business travelers.

The Email menu category allows a guest to use his existing email address or to create a new one, to send and receive messages during his stay and thereafter. The Travel Menu category offers current itineraries, flight connections and airport guides, while the News and Business sections enable guests to read today's news from hundreds of newspapers worldwide or peruse up-to-the-minute breaking global news. The Stock Quotes category offers today's closings on major exchanges around the world.

To address the needs of the seasoned road warrior who travels with his/her laptop, MLC offers full-bandwidth connections to the Internet without the need for a local ISP.

With MLC, guests no longer need roaming capability or need to pay monthly subscription charges to an ISP. The dedicated leased line installed at the Imperial ensures that guests will be able to download email, attachments, and surf the 'Net at the full speed of their modems, without being plagued by busy signals, failed connections or getting disconnected in the middle of a session, problems ubiquitous to local ISP services.

Passport is a sophisticated Internet portal designed for both business and pleasure. Tailored exclusively to the discerning tastes of international travelers, Passport is available through MLC while at the hotel, with continued access once the guest is back home. It brings the hotel guests 12 menu items that comprehensively cover the finest sites in both business and leisure, including News, Stock Quotes, Weather, Sports, Entertainment and the Best of the Web.

Also available through Passport is an extension selection of the best local web sites. Guests may search for the best Thai restaurant close to the hotel, a nightspot with live jazz, buy tickets to a theatre performance, find maps on how to get to their appointment tomorrow, or opening times to the city museum. All this and more, continuously monitored and updated by MagiNet's dedicated content researchers, to ensure the guest's information is up-to-the-minute current.

"We are extremely pleased to introduce our Internet product offerings at the Imperial Inter-Continental, Taipei," states Robert Creager, President and CEO of MagiNet. "The needs sophistication and expectations of the international business traveler today have created an entirely new set of guest requirements. We believe that MagiNet Internet TV, MagiNet Laptop Connect and Passport are perfectly positioned to comprehensively address these new needs."

According to General Manager of the Imperial Inter-Continental Taipei, Christian Pirodon, "The Imperial Inter-Continental Taipei is a proven leader in the technology field. In 1997 we pioneered the CyberAssist program, a first in the hospitality industry, with the mission of bringing a higher level of technology services to our guests. The latest addition to the CyberAssist offerings, MagiNet's products, are further reinforcement and commitment Imperial Inter-Continental has made to providing a world class level of service and state-of-the-art technology."

MagiNet, the largest provider of video-on-demand and Internet services to hotels in international markets, has now leveraged its experience, core competencies and installed base to become the turnkey, total solutions provider of in-room entertainment, information services and Internet solutions geared expressly to the hospitality industry.

The company's product penetration encompasses over 84,000 rooms in 264 properties worldwide.

Headquartered in Manila, the Philippines, MagiNet is represented via subsidiaries in Australia, Hong Kong, Israel, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, South Africa, Taiwan and Thailand, and through distributors in Guam and Saipan.

Since March 1998, Inter-Continental Hotels has been a part of the Bass Hotels & Resorts, the hotel business of Bass PLC of the United Kingdom.

Bass Hotels & Resorts operates or franchises more than 2,600 hotels and 450,000 guest rooms in more than 75 countries and territories.

Mika Saitoh
MagiNet Corporation
Makati, Philippines
+(632) 818-1166 - voice
+(632) 893-1455 - fax
[email protected]

Russell Chen
MagiNet Taiwan Inc.
Taipei, Taiwan
+(886) 2-2321-4526 - voice
+(886) 2-2322-5592 - fax
[email protected]

Anne Ng
Imperial Inter-Continental
Taipei, Taiwan
+(886) 2-2596-5111 - voice
+(886) 2-2592-7506 - fax
[email protected]