3 November 2004

Multimap and Avis Join Forces to Provide BA Executive Club Members with Step-by-Step Travel Directions

Multimap and Avis Announce Significant Site Enhancement at Internet World North, 2004

Multimap, Europe’s leading online mapping provider, announced the deployment of its “Travel Directions” service on www.avisba.com today at Internet World North, 2004 (G-Mex, Manchester, 3rd and 4th November). The deployment enables British Airways’ Executive Club members interested in Avis’s car-hire services to receive point-by-point travel directions, in the language of their choice, across 16 European countries and the US*. The quality, accuracy and relevance of the services are expected to boost visitor loyalty to the site.

Simon Forbes, Partnership Manager, Avis-Europe, commented; “Multimap’s ‘Travel Directions’ service offers the perfect complement to our premier car-rental service. For the discerning BA customer who wants to rent high-quality vehicles in a few easy steps online, the accurate point-by-point directions, delivered at sub-second speed, offer a wonderful value-add to the site. They help to keep BA Executive Club members coming back to the site time and time again.”

Visitors to www.avisba.com can access Multimap’s travel directions services in one of three ways. They can click on the “get step-by-step directions for 16 countries” link; select the “Need driving directions” link on the home page; or click on the “Country Driving Guides”, select their country of interest, and proceed to click on the “Need directions?” tab. Travellers then choose to receive the directions in English, French or German; select the country of interest from a drop-down list of 16 different European countries* plus the US; enter the town/city and or postcode of the journey start point and destination; and opt to receive directions showing either the quickest or the shortest journey. Multimap delivers an overview map plotting the route plus a list of step-by-step directions. Detailed maps of each step of the journey are only a click away, and cumulative time and distance are also shown.

Forbes continued, “We have outlets worldwide and so needed a mapping partner with street-level coverage of all these territories. Multimap was clearly the mapping partner of choice not only on this count, but also in terms of its transparent, competitive pricing model; the quality of service provided by its customer service and technical teams; and its track record of straightforward, rapid implementations. Multimap has lived up to all our expectations, and we are delighted with the results.”

Jeff Kelisky, CEO of Multimap, said; “In conjunction with Avis, we offer BA Executive Club members an invaluable complementary service. For frequent travellers to be able to rent a car and receive pan-European travel directions, without having to leave a site, represents the type of value-add that keeps customers loyal to a web site. We at Multimap are in the business of providing online location services that enrich customers’ experience online, and www.avisba.com is a perfect example of that. We are delighted to be working with Avis.”

* Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the US.

About Multimap

Multimap is Europe's leading provider of mapping and location-based services. The company delivers more online maps, point-to-point driving directions and geo-spatial ("where's my nearest?") searches to more companies than any other supplier in Europe. All services are offered on mobile, PDA, kiosk, and interactive TV platforms and in multiple languages.

The public website, www.multimap.com, provides a range of free, useful services to assist with everyday life. Key features include street-level maps of Europe, USA, Canada and Australia; road maps of the world; door-to-door travel directions; aerial photographs; weather forecasts; links to location information; and services such as hotel, restaurant and entertainment booking. The public site attracts over 7.3 million unique users, registers more than 140 million page impressions every month, and is one of the top 10 most visited websites in the UK. Multimap recently featured in The Sunday Times Tech Track 100 league table of fastest-growing, unquoted technology companies for the second consecutive year.

About Cardiff University

Cardiff University is recognised in independent government assessments as one of Britain's leading teaching and research universities. Founded by Royal Charter in 1883, the University today combines impressive modern facilities and a dynamic approach to teaching and research with its proud heritage of service and achievement. The University's breadth of expertise in research and research-led teaching encompasses: the humanities; the natural, physical, health, life and social sciences; engineering and technology; preparation for a wide range of professions; and a longstanding commitment to lifelong learning. From its outstanding central location amidst the parks, Portland-stone buildings and tree-lined excellence in all areas of activity. Cardiff is a member of the Russell Group of Britain's leading research universities. Having gained national and international standing, Cardiff University's vision is to be recognised as a world-class university and to achieve the associated benefits for its students, staff and all other stakeholders.