About.com Presents "The Red Ball Express"

The Internet's "First Global Block Party" will be held on Saturday, October 9, 1999 at the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas from 8am to 5pm.

About.com, the leading network of niche vertical sites, invites individuals from around the world to "Click" With Celebrities, Internet Fans and Industry Icons at an Unprecedented Off-Line Celebration. The Internet, the world's most important force in bringing people together on-line, is the inspiration behind The Red Ball, an off-line celebration of some of the most influential faces and personalities that power the Net.

A highlight of the day will be off-line "Power Chats," interactive debates where celebrities and industry insiders will trade perspectives on the Internet and topics as diverse as politics, shopping, romance and the future of media. Some of these include:

Panel Discussions:
"Is the Mall an Endangered Species?"...Shopping 2010
Moderator: Starr Jones of ABC's "The View"
Kathy Najimy of TV show Veronica's Closet and four About.com Guides covering online shopping, fashion, personal credit and collectibles

"Around the Web in 1000 Days...Travel in the Age of the Internet"
Moderator: Starr Jones
Peter Greenberg of NBC's Today Show and four About.com Guides covering Go Hawaii, Eco-Tourism, Travel with Kids and Go Europe

"Moonlight, Magic and your Mouse...Wired for Love?"
Moderator: Chuck Wollery of the Dating Game and Love Connection
Kathy Najimy and four Guides covering Sexuality, Dating, Senior Living and Divorce Support

"With Liberty and Justice for all On-Line...Politics Democracy and the
Internet in an Election Year"
Moderator: Starr Jones
Christopher Buckley, Political Satirist and writer of "Thank You For Smoking"
Four Guides include Libertarianism, Christianity, Race Relations and Multiculturalism.

"The Red Ball will bring together a group of consumers, industry leaders, online personalities, off-line celebrities and traditional and new media pioneers," said About.com CEO Scott Kurnit. "Unlike other significant, star-powered industry happenings, The Red Ball, just like the Internet itself, is open to everyone...everyone whose life is or will be touched, impacted and enhanced by the most powerful medium of our time. This is a special opportunity for the not so Net-savvy to come together with the most Net-savvy people of our time."

The Red Ball will draw on the strength of the About.com community, the hundreds of expert Guides who oversee the topic-specific sites within the huge About.com network. The Guides - authorities on subjects ranging from day-trading and dating to casino gambling, southern cooking, and economics, who help over a million people each day online - will interact face to face with fans and followers, and join together to participate in a range of demonstrations, contests, panels and other activities.

Attendees can explore in real-time all of their favorite subjects and pursuits. The action-packed day of interactive dialogue, debate and discussion will include a diverse array of hands-on demonstrations led by About.com's expert guides, such as:

* A simulated "weekend in New England"

* A high-speed picture-painting lesson and contest

* A presentation on MIDI music and MP3 technology

* A demonstration of the latest in interactive vide gaming

* A presentation on starting an investment club

* Doll making lessons

* An overview of online adoption resources for adoptees and their families

* A quiz show designed to enhance web-searching skills

* A gymnastics demonstration

* An economist's perspective on the workforce of the Internet age.

More than 400 About.com Guides from around the globe plan to attend. This is the first time this group will assemble in one place. Come and join them for this first of its kind event.

Further details and scheduling for the event are to be announced. Public information about The Red Ball is available on-line at http://www.theredball.com.