Printable certificate of achievement

Business/Entertainment Editors

NORTH HOLLYWOOD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 9, 2000

Disney's Long-Standing Leadership in the Area of Internet Safety

Shines as New Web Site Delivers Internet Safety Education

Through Interactive Entertainment

Smart Web surfers worldwide can now join Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy and other Disney characters on an interactive Internet safety adventure as they travel to Surf Swell Island: Adventures in Internet Safety on Disney.com.

To celebrate the site's launch, Disney Online today hosts its own beach bash in Southern California, complete with "off-line" re-creations of Surf Swell Island's "smart surfing" lessons and interactive antics.

The Disney characters on Surf Swell Island, some that have never appeared on the Internet, deliver valuable smart surfing lessons through entertaining, original online games and activities. Pioneered by Disney Online, a business unit of Walt Disney Internet Group (NYSE: DIG) and a longtime leader in online safety education, Surf Swell Island is just a "Mouse" click away, reachable by logging on to www.surfswellisland.com or www.disney.com, D-Word: Surf.

Upon arrival on Surf Swell Island, online tourists join Mickey and his friends on a guided educational tour through five primary Island hot spots, all featuring original interactive games, quick quizzes and printables designed to reinforce the importance of surfing the Internet smartly. Once Island visitors have explored the first four Island locales that integrate Internet safety lessons, they receive their official Surf Swell Island "Certificate of Swellness" acknowledging their smart surfing educational achievement. The five Surf Swell Island online locales include (in guided order):

-- "The Cliff of Mean Manners" - Surf Swell Island visitors help

Goofy escape cliff-hanging peril by answering questions about

Internet etiquette, also known as Netiquette. Through a quick quiz

that follows the interactive game, visitors learn what to do when

a person writes something mean or makes them feel uncomfortable

via the Internet.

-- "The Virus Caves" - When computer viruses make Donald Duck weak

in the knees, guests help Donald Duck get out of the cave by

aiming his peashooter to squash the "mean" viruses and collect the

"happy" viruses. In a quick, post-game quiz, Web surfers learn

about computer virus do's and don'ts.

-- "No Privacy Beach" - Minnie Mouse craves seclusion and sunshine

but discovers she has no privacy on this part of the Island. The

No Privacy Beach game helps educate guests about the importance of

privacy on the Internet. Through a quick quiz, visitors learn

about the risks of giving out personal information like full name,

phone number, address and pictures on the Internet.

-- "Tiki Fun Stuff Village" - After successfully saving Mickey

Mouse's friends from their online predicaments, guests can

celebrate with an action-packed game of coconut bowling. In order

to bowl, players must first earn their coconuts by answering

several online safety questions. The Tiki Fun Stuff Village is

intended to review all of the important Internet safety lessons

learned at the other Island locales.

-- "The Print Hut" - Finally, Island adventurers travel to the

Print Hut, a destination featuring printable "smart surfing"

resources including coloring pages, mazes, word puzzles and a

printable official graduation certificate.

The navigation bar surrounding Surf Swell Island offers direct links to numerous Disney.com and third-party Internet safety tools and resources such as Disney.com's Cybernetiquette Comix and Doug's Internet Safety Page, as well as Net Nanny, an Internet filtering and child-safety software provider, which is the Surf Swell Island site exclusive sponsor.

The site was inspired by a Disney Online independent research study of more than 4,000 children and parents. More than half of the parents cited Internet safety awareness and education as a primary concern about their children's experience while surfing the Web. As a result, Disney Online charged ahead to create an educational and entertaining "smart surfing" Web destination -- a site that features information from a trusted source, delivered in a fun and interactive format.

"While there are numerous resources for information on online safety issues, we felt the responsibility to lend Disney's unique voice to this extremely important topic," said Ken Goldstein, executive vice president and managing director of Disney Online. "Disney Online has always been a leader in Internet safety initiatives, and Surf Swell Island is our latest and most expansive initiative focused on capturing the imagination of a new generation of Web surfers."

Internet safety advocate Parry Aftab, a privacy lawyer and executive director of Cyberangels.org, the largest online safety and educational program in cyberspace, concurs that a critical need exists for an engaging Internet safety "interactive destination":

"Already more than 25 million children in the U.S. are surfing online. With more and more children surfing the Internet everyday, it's crucial that we find online resources to provide smart surfing lessons and links to other critical Internet safety resources. Disney Online is the only entertainment company that's successfully leveraged its knowledge, experience and global reach to deliver Internet safety information in a fun and engaging way."

Since its inception five years ago, Disney Online has created extensive, original interactive entertainment related to online safety and smart surfing and championed numerous public education outreach programs. The creation of Surf Swell Island: Adventures In Internet Safety underscores Disney Online's leadership and demonstrates its ongoing efforts to provide online learning as well as fun for children and their families.

About Disney Online

Founded in 1995, Disney Online produces Disney.com, the No. 1 kids and family entertainment site on the Web. Disney.com is part of Walt Disney Internet Group (NYSE: DIG), the Internet business of The Walt Disney Company. Walt Disney Internet Group manages some of the Internet's most popular Web sites, including ABC.com, ABCNEWS.com, ABCSports.com, Disney.com, DisneyStore.com, DisneyTravel.com, ESPN.com, Family.com, GO.com, Movies.com, Mr. Showbiz, NASCAR Online, NBA.com, NFL.com and Soccernet. The Internet Group also includes The Walt Disney Company's direct marketing business. Steve Bornstein is chairman of Walt Disney Internet Group, which has headquarters in North Hollywood, Calif., with operations in Sunnyvale, Calif.; Seattle; New York; Bristol, Conn.; and London. For more information, visit the web site at www.dig.com.

Note to Editors: Artwork and video footage are also available upon request by contacting Vanessa Lemen at 323/866-6033 or vlemen@mslpr.com.