MessageMedia Expands to Europe

MessageMedia Expands InternationalPresence; Creates MessageMedia Europe

MessageMedia Forms Joint Venture With SOFTBANK and Vivendi to Pursue Leadership Position in Europe

Oct. 7, 1999-- MessageMedia Inc. (Nasdaq:MESG), a leading provider of e-mail-based customer relationship management and direct marketing services, agreed today to create MessageMedia Europe, a joint venture between MessageMedia and @viso ("Atviso").

@viso, a strategic partnership between Vivendi, the European leader in communications, and SOFTBANK, will help MessageMedia rapidly penetrate the European region. MessageMedia entered into a non-binding agreement with @viso and the two companies are working toward a definitive agreement.

"MessageMedia has the unique opportunity to extend its U.S. brand in the e-messaging category in the rapidly growing European market," said Larry Jones, president and CEO of MessageMedia. "By teaming with Vivendi and SOFTBANK through @viso, we will dramatically accelerate our entry into the continental European marketplace."

"As the pre-eminent leader in large-scale e-mail services, MessageMedia is becoming increasingly central to the new Internet economy," said Masayoshi Son, Chairman of SOFTBANK Corp. "We expect that its innovative technology and sharply focused business model will position MessageMedia as a major force in this critical infrastructure sector in Europe."

MessageMedia Europe will be led by managing director, David Ehrenthal, previously vice president of international development for MessageMedia. Mr. Ehrenthal possesses extensive expertise in the e-messaging space as well as eight years of multinational business experience with MessageMedia, American Express and other firms. As a previous marketing director for American Express Travel Related Services, Ehrenthal was instrumental in developing the Small Business Corporate Card business in Europe.

MessageMedia's outsourced e-mail services are designed to help clients deliver timely information to subscribers, route and respond to customer requests, uncover new marketing opportunities, provide e-mail support for online e-commerce applications as well as conduct online customer surveys and research. These scalable solutions enable companies to increase customer retention and loyalty through an e-mail dialog as well as reduce operational and technology risk in executing large-scale e-mail programs at a reduced cost.

As part of the joint venture, @viso will provide MessageMedia Europe with a full set of market access services in Europe, including identifying local competitors and potential partners, in order to accelerate MessageMedia Europe's position as a leader in e-mail services. @viso will act as an incubator, providing capital, infrastructure, and local support services, including strategic marketing, technical facilities and personnel resources.

MessageMedia is currently providing e-messaging services in Europe for Barclays Bank and Bertelsmann.

About @ viso

Formed in July 1999, @viso (Atviso) is a joint venture between Vivendi and SOFTBANK, aimed at helping U.S. Internet companies gain rapid market entry into continental Europe. Its regional expertise and toolboxes of services -- including state-of-the-art technical facilities and marketing, legal, PR and recruitment services -- help businesses expand into new territory. Additional information about @viso can be found at www.atviso.com

About Vivendi

With net sales of 39 billion euros (estimated for 1999) and 260,000 employees in over 100 countries, Vivendi is the world leader in Environmental Services and a major player in communications. Vivendi owns Cegetel, the largest French private telecommunications operator, Europe's leading pay-television company Canal+, and the publishing giant Havas.

About SOFTBANK Corporation

SOFTBANK Corp. has emerged as one of the world's leading Internet market forces. Through its ownership positions in more than 100 Internet companies and its unique Internet-zaibatsu management concept, it is able to create market synergies for its family of companies on a global scale. In Japan its activities encompass distribution, publishing, Internet media platforms, a broad range of e-commerce businesses, and joint ventures with companies such as Microsoft, Cisco, Yahoo!, NASDAQ, and many other market leaders. In the U.S., SOFTBANK is the largest shareholder in leading Internet companies such as Yahoo!, E-TRADE and ZDNet, and in Europe has established Internet joint ventures with News Corp. and Vivendi.

About MessageMedia Inc.

MessageMedia (Nasdaq:MESG) is a leading provider of e-mail-based customer relationship management and direct marketing services. The Company offers a comprehensive suite of outsource messaging services for information delivery, e-commerce services, permission-based direct marketing, ongoing customer communications and real-time customer feedback solutions using industry standard Internet protocols. MessageMedia's customer portfolio includes clients from the financial services, publishing, direct marketing, retailing, software and electronic commerce industries. Clients include E-TRADE, AOL, Apple, Yahoo!, Microsoft, GeoCities, Intuit, CMP Media, Barclays Bank, EDS, CNBC, Universal Studios and Bertelsmann. Investors in MessageMedia include SOFTBANK and its affiliates, which constitute the world's largest investors in the Internet and Pequot Capital Management, a Connecticut-based research-intensive investment firm.

"Safe Harbor" Statement Under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act. With the exception of the historical information contained in this release, the matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that involve risk and uncertainties. These risk factors include, but are not limited to, the integration of a new senior management team, MessageMedia's limited operating history, the integration of recent acquisitions, risks associated with pending and future acquisitions, the
anticipated fluctuations in operating results, the uncertain acceptance of new services being offered, and undeveloped and rapidly changing market and other factors detailed in MessageMedia's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1998 and its most recent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q. All companies and product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date hereof. MessageMedia undertakes no obligation to release publicly the result of any revisions to these forward-looking statements that may be made to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events.

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