Contact:			For Immediate Release
	Tinabeth Burton ITAA +1-703-284-5305 tburton@itaa.org			Jill Nolton WorldCom +1-202-736-6736 jill.nolton@wcom.com

Loudoun County, VA, May 22, 2001 - - The Global Internet Project (GIP) today challenged top-tier private sector executives and senior government officials to work together to develop technology solutions to Internet policy challenges, such as on-line privacy, cyber-security, and spamming. During a two-day series of meetings, global technology leaders encouraged government officials to avoid applying old-school regulatory responses to new Digital Age challenges. They also discussed and debated innovative solutions and capped off the meetings with a firm resolve to seek a unified approach to political and technical Internet-driven problems.

The industry-government dialog, "Trust in the Internet: Required Technology and Policy Solutions," has set a new precedent. Leaders not only engaged in dialog, but also sought consensus in handling online privacy, security, and reliability challenges. This unique forum brought together technologists, policy makers, and business leaders seeking a common and very ambitious goal- global government and industry agreement on best-practice solutions to help foster the New Economy.

"People, whether consumers at home, students or those working in institutions of all kinds, -- expect an Internet they can trust," said John Patrick, Chairman of the Global Internet Project and IBM's Vice President for Internet Technology. "That is why the industry must work together to design and build the Next Generation Internet--and develop technologies and policies that will provide the levels of reliability, security, and privacy that users need. This isn't optional; it's essential to the continued growth of the Internet and e-business."

This dialog is the second in a series of GIP-sponsored high-level forums designed to ensure the security, reliability, and privacy of the Next Generation Internet. Details on the first such forum in Berlin in November 2000 are available at www.witsa.org/gip. The GIP, WorldCom, and the Cross Industry Working Team have co-hosted this timely industry-government discussion, and WorldCom, Securify, VeriSign, and Real User are corporate sponsors.

"The Internet is a global infrastructure --- for the Internet to play a role in sustained economic growth around the world, people must be able to trust its systems," said Vint Cerf, GIP Principal Member and Senior Vice President for Internet Architecture and Technology at WorldCom. "It will require a cooperative effort to encourage and justify worldwide participation in the Internet Revolution."

About the GIP

The Global Internet Project (GIP) is an international group of senior executives committed to fostering continued growth of the Internet. GIP members come from leading Internet-centric companies representing the telecommunications, software, hardware, and financial services sectors. Based in Arlington, Virginia, the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) serves as GIP headquarters. For more information about GIP, visit http://www.witsa.org/gip.