The agreement, a major development in the convergence of television and the Internet, will make comprehensive, Internet-based information about television programming available through the television set itself. Under the terms of the agreement, TVGEN will provide content from its recently launched Web site, such as its customized regional programming grid, for WebTV Network subscribers.

"People want to interact with entertainment sources in new and different ways, always looking for a deeper experience," said Steve Perlman, co-founder, president and CEO of WebTV Networks Inc. TVGEN's interactive content is ideal for viewing on WebTV, and the TV Guide brand name has incredible resonance with the television audience."

"Users can identify what they want to watch through the TVGEN listings on WebTV and switch back to the actual program -- never leaving their couch," said Jeff Leist, chief operating officer of TVGEN. "The TVGEN icon will be prominently displayed on the WebTV home page, allowing WebTV subscribers to easily access TVGEN's content as part of a total entertainment and learning experience."

"Users can access Web-based chat rooms, audio snippets and magazine columns related to their favorite shows as soon as the closing credits roll, or even at the same time with a picture-in-picture-equipped television," explained Perlman.

"We are looking forward to a long-term alliance between TVGEN and WebTV," said James Murdoch, vice president of music and new media for TVGEN. "Our goal is to provide the most comprehensive, compelling information combined with unmatched utility that will keep audiences coming back and staying longer. We think it's wonderful that, thanks to WebTV, this compelling and useful information about television will be available on the television set itself. The alliance is one more step toward our goal of being platform-agnostic - available to all audiences, on all platforms, at all times."

As part of the long-term agreement between the companies, TVGEN is taking advantage of cutting-edge technologies currently in development at WebTV.

Networks to optimize TVGEN content on the WebTV Network service. Enhancements currently in development include support for more- sophisticated audio integration and additional regional specifications for the listing grids.

The TV Guide Entertainment Network is the Internet's premier entertainment source for TV, movies, music and sports information. Wholly owned by News Corporation, TVGEN contains up-to-the-minute entertainment listings, customized viewing schedules based on user preference, interactive features and games, current local TV programming, and daily updated original content, and has nearly 10 million page views a month.

Founded in 1995 by Steve Perlman, Bruce Leak and Phil Goldman, WebTV Networks is dedicated to bringing high-quality, affordable Internet access to television consumers through integrated, easy-to-use, standards-based technologies and services. WebTV Networks is based in Palo Alto, Calif.

NOTE TO EDITORS: If you are interested in receiving additional information on WebTV Networks, please visit their Web site at http://webtv.net