America Online Inaugurates Election Guide 2004

America Online Inc., last week announced the launch of its Election Guide 2004, providing voters with comprehensive multimedia coverage of local and national races, as well as platforms to express their political views. Through a wide range of audio, video, magazine and newspaper offerings from best-of-breed partners, the AOL Election Guide 2004 is designed to meet the needs of average voters, political junkies, the mildly interested and younger voters alike. In addition, AOL Latino is offering separate election coverage that addresses the issues that impact the daily lives of U.S. Hispanics and encourages member participation in the democratic process.

Combining voter resources with breaking news, analysis and commentary from a spectrum of world-class political sources, AOL's Election Guide 2004 offers on-demand content to AOL members at AOL Keyword: Elections. The majority of the content is also available online to the general public.

To further engage voters in the election process, the Election Guide 2004 features America Votes polls and a President Match tool that helps voters choose the right candidate for them. AOL members can express their support for their candidates of choice through campaign Buddy Icons and participate in such interactive features as online debates and a state-by-state Virtual Primary poll.

"AOL's Election Guide 2004 is more than an informational source -- it is an open forum where voters can create their own election experiences and campaign online for their candidates of choice," said Lewis D'Vorkin, AOL's editor in chief for News and Sports. "Whether they are armchair enthusiasts or hard-core campaign operatives, AOL members can follow alongside the candidates in nearly every step of the election process by reading up on and comparing their stances, getting insider perspectives, debating the issues with other voters and more."

Key elements of AOL's Election 2004 coverage include:

• President Match: Using an interactive quiz, voters can see which candidate best matches their views and requirements for president.
• Buddy Icons: AOL takes election bumper stickers online with the introduction of campaign button Buddy Icons. Members can voice their views and support their candidates of choice through online expressions.
• Your Elections: For presidential, congressional, state legislation and local races, voters can find information on the candidates and their views, as well as voter registration areas.
• Voters can get breaking news updates and analysis from the best names in news and politics, including ABC News' The Note, The Associated Press, The Christian Science Monitor, CNN, NYTimes.com, USATODAY.com and Time.
• Working with ABC News, AOL will also offer video interviews by George Stephanopoulos, anchor of ABC News' Sunday morning program This Week with George Stephanopoulos. Stephanopoulos also currently answers AOL members' questions about major news events and key political issues.
• A Polling Place Locator lets voters enter their ZIP code to help them find voting locations, driving directions and more.
• The Political Insider: The Election Guide 2004 brings voters the inside scoop on candidates and their fundraising efforts and compiles research and analysis from such nationally acclaimed political sources as Congressional Quarterly, Creators Syndicate and National Journal.
• "Informed Voices" commentators such as Mike McCurry, Scott Reed, Jonah Goldberg and Arianna Huffington also provide weekly columns, and 30- to 45-second exclusive audio analysis will be available from liberal, conservative and non-partisan perspectives.
• AOL's innovative "Lean Left" or "Lean Right" navigation helps members find the analyst whose opinion is most in sync with theirs.
• The Sideshow: For those interested in the lighter side of politics, The Sideshow serves up comedy, satire and cartoons related to government and the race for office.
• AOL for Broadband and dial-up users alike can enjoy video and audio from some of the best sources in the business, including Bill Maher's Real Time HBO series, Comedy Central's The Daily Show with Jon Stewart

• and more.
• Younger Voters: To encourage election participation among young voters, AOL's Younger Voters area incorporates content from Rock the Vote to provide the younger audience with information on issues of interest.
• In addition to video and audio coverage of Rock the Vote events, young voters can access exclusive and on-demand audio commentary from celebrities.

AOL Latino
To complement AOL's Election Guide 2004 coverage and address the growing U.S. Hispanic audience, AOL Latino's Tu Voz Es Tu Voto 2004 (Your Voice, Your Vote) election area provides comprehensive coverage of the primaries, political party conventions, state-to-state races and the presidential election. Through a variety of original programming and content from its leading partner network, Tu Voz Es Tu Voto 2004 offers a series of profiles of each candidate, voter registration information and more. Members can participate in the election process by submitting their questions for the candidates who will respond in AOL interviews, as well as voicing their opinions on message boards and poll areas.