Tokyo, October 18, 2001 - KDDI Corp., Okinawa Cellular Telephone Company, and the Tu-Ka Group announced that from October 31 they will introduce an option allowing customers easy access to external portal sites through an 'Open Site' option on the top menu of the EZweb wireless internet service.

The move, an important step in expanding the range of services accessible from EZweb, will allow consumers access to a far greater variety of content than currently available.

Access to content will also be made simpler with the introduction of a new input system. The current URL system requires the time-consuming input of long strings of characters. This will be replaced by a new 'Simple Access' menu that will allow consumers access to sites by entering codes consisting of several numbers that are available in magazines and other sources.

Other developments are also taking place as a prelude to the planned December release of au's new WAP 2.0 mobile phones which are compatible with the next-generation script XHTML. Existing EZweb-compatible au and Tu-Ka mobile phones will gain access to certain unofficial i-Mode sites through an expansion of the conversion functions of the EZweb server.

KDDI is developing a wide range of other initiatives to further increase access to EZweb services. Standards relating to content were relaxed in June this year, and the company intends to gradually open up its networks to ISPs and expand the ways in which customers can pay for KDDI content. These changes will combine with the new initiative outlined above to create a genuinely open EZweb internet environment.
Details of the above developments follow.

Increased Portal Access Summary

The EZweb top menu has been redesigned to make access to external portal sites even easier. A new 'Open Site' option facilitates this access, greatly increasing the amount of content available to customers. This initiative is similar to those already being undertaken by U.S. and European mobile phone companies. KDDI is the first Japanese company to venture into this area. Portal sites available at the start of the new service will be those of Nifty, Biglobe, Yahoo and Lycos Japan. This list will be gradually expanded as the service develops.

'Simple Access' Summary

Access to content will be simplified by the introduction of a new input system. The current URL system is time-consuming, requiring the input of long strings of characters. This will be replaced by a new 'Simple Access' menu that will allow consumers to access sites by entering code numbers of several digits that can be found in magazines and other sources. Code numbers will be attached to all content services offered by e-System Corporation, INTERNET NUMBER CORPORATION, J-DATA CO.,LTD, and SHOEISHA Co.,Ltd. and then automatically converted to the equivalent URLs. The Simple Access option is available from the EZweb top menu, and does not require any additional costs or special applications. Additional Simple Access options will also be available on au's forthcoming WAP 2.0 mobile phone, due to be released in December of this year. Entering codes on the standby screen will allow direct access to content, by means of a new function.

WAP 2.0 Compatibility
	au's new WAP 2.0 mobile phone units, which make use of next-generation XHTML scripting, are due to be released in December of this year. These new units offer access to a broad range of unofficial i-Mode sites currently being introduced through external portal sites. As a prelude to the release of these units, existing EZweb-compatible au and Tu-Ka mobile phones will gain access to certain unofficial i-Mode sites through an expansion of the conversion functions of the EZweb server. Content conversion functions will be available free of charge to all existing EZweb customers, and will not require any separate applications.
	*	KDDI cannot guarantee that the i-Mode Internet environment will be maintained when these sites are accessed. In addition, it will not be possible to browse or download image files from the standby screen.

'Open Site' 'Simple Access' Screen Images