Press Release

SAN MATEO, CA (August 28, 2006) - The envelope, please! After an intense nine-week Fashion Challenge that started with a dozen online designers and presented them with seven avatar fashion design assignments, There.com this week awarded top honors to the community member who goes by the There name of Geea. The announcement followed a community vote on fall fashion collections whipped up by the three finalists who competed in the grand finale.

The contest enabled There members with or without professional fashion or graphic design experience to express their creativity, using design tools provided on the site to create various garments and shoes, apply the colors of their choice, add accessories such as scarves, and develop original textures and patterns. Members can also design clothes and other items at any time with the same tools.

"Before joining There, my only experience pertaining to fashion was shopping. I'm pretty good at that," joked Geea, who began designing clothes for her There avatar three years ago and who was one of the 12 contestants selected by There staff on the basis of their There portfolios. "Normally I design There clothes for what I would like to wear in-game. This was very different because I knew everyone would be looking at my designs and judging them, so I needed to do my best and at the same time still keep with my own style. Winning was a complete surprise."

Geea and runners-up Mariesa and Shaeri will receive a Dell laptop, an Apple iPod and a Sony Playstation Portable, respectively. The finalists and other contestants in the competition's "designing dozen" can also sell their designs in There auctions for purchase with Therebucks, the community currency, by other members who want to dress their avatars in high style.

The competition began in late June with a challenge to design a men's ensemble inspired by the pirate look, coinciding with Johnny Depp's reprise of his iconic role as swashbuckler Jack Sparrow in Pirates of the Caribbean II. Successive events asked contestants to clothe avatar models for photo shoots at assorted There landmarks, do a clothing makeover for There community mascot Aral, create men's attire inspired by 1950s styles, and so on.

Last week's Fall Fashion finale challenged the finalists to produce three complete women's outfits for the fall season, including top, bottom and shoes. Members were asked to evaluate the entries based on the details the designers put into their clothing textures, each designer's unique approach to the task, and how well the designs work together as a fall collection.

Each week's challenge culminated in a virtual runway event featuring avatar models showing off the contestants' designs. Members then voted to eliminate one or more designers in each round, gradually narrowing the field down to the three finalists. The winning designs can be seen at www.therefashionchallenge.com.

"Our Fashion Challenge highlights several of There's main attractions for members: the look and expressiveness of our 3D avatars, the events and tools we offer to showcase members' talent, and There's ability to serve as a creative outlet," said Betsy Book, Director of Product Management for There parent company Makena Technologies. "Whether you want to create your own avatar clothing, model other members' designs, or simply dress your own avatar to suit your tastes, There offers ample opportunities to express your individual style and personality."

The Fashion Challenge is an extension of There's developer program, an ongoing community offering that enables members to design clothing, vehicles, furniture and other items using special tools on the site and then sell them through There auctions. At any given time, the site might have 20,000 women's avatar apparel items alone available for auction. Therebucks earned by developers through these sales can be used to purchase other items on the site or exchanged for real money on third-party sites.

About There.com

There.com is an online hangout where you can spend time with your friends and meet new ones, all in a lush 3D environment that's yours to explore and help build. For more information, or to join THERE.COM and start meeting new friends and participating in fun activities, visit www.There.com.

Press Contact:
Kerry Coulter
Dotted Line Communications (for There.com)
415-829-7152
kerry@dottedlinecomm.com


Michelle Andersen
Dotted Line Communications (for There.com)
415-292-3677