Microsoft Encarta 2007 to redefine traditional learning

* Offers one-stop access to more than 64,000 articles on just about any topic with more than 300 videos, 3,000 sound clips, and 26,000 photos!

Mumbai, September 06, 2006: With the overriding objective of making learning more fun and interactive, Microsoft Entertainment & Devices Division today announced the India launch of Microsoft® Student with Encarta® Premium 2007, its best-selling encyclopedia brand. Designed to provide up-to-date content and engaging multimedia tools, Microsoft® Student with Encarta® Premium 2007 enables young learners to easily find relevant and reliable information on just about any subject at a click of the mouse. Priced at Rs. 3999, Microsoft® Student with Encarta® Premium 2007 will now be available off-the-shelf at 500+ retail outlets at as many as 30 cities across the country. Also Microsoft Encarta Premium will be available at Rs. 1999 while Microsoft Encarta Standard will be available at Rs. 1299.

Announcing the India launch, Mohit Anand, Country Manager, Microsoft Entertainment and Devices Division, India said "Today school children are increasingly leveraging technology-based learning resources for finding information they need to complete their projects assignments and homework. In this context, our educational software; Microsoft® Student with Encarta® Premium 2007 is geared to provide students the most current and engaging content on a variety of subjects ranging from science, history and geography to math, ultimately empowering them to achieve academic confidence and success."

Microsoft® Student with Encarta® Premium 2007 offers a new look and feel with task-based organization, making it easier for students to quickly and easily find the tools they need related to their specific assignment, rather than navigating by subject. From Book Summaries to Online Homework Help in one place, it provides appropriate level of guidance and supports lifelong learning from start to finish.

Some of its other unique features include Microsoft Math - a collection of tools, tutorials and instructions to help students tackle math and science problems in one central location. A ground-breaking Graphing Calculator which complements the range of calculators required by a large percentage of schools and is designed to help students visualize and solve difficult and science problems. In addition to that the improved Web Companion makes it easy to sort through those sites by surfacing a short list of accurate, trusted content options when a student conducts a search using any search engine.

About Microsoft® Student with Encarta®: Microsoft Encarta is a comprehensive resource that families can trust for accurate, up-to-date information. Encarta makes it easy to find information on nearly any subject, with its rich, interactive multimedia and carefully reviewed age-appropriate content. Microsoft Encarta has more than 60,000 articles, an interactive atlas, dictionaries, a thesaurus, current and back issues of 100 leading magazines, homework tools, daily math help, and more, available whenever and wherever you need the information.

About Microsoft India: Founded in 1975, Microsoft (NASDAQ "MSFT") is the worldwide leader in software for personal and business computing. The company offers a wide range of products and services designed to empower people through great software-any time, any place and on any device. Microsoft Corporation India Pvt Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Microsoft Corporation. It has had a presence in India since 1990 and employs over 4000 people across its offices in New Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Calcutta, Chennai, Hyderabad and Pune.