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Press
Release
MICROSOFT PARTNERS WITH NATIONAL CENTER FOR MISSING & EXPLOITED
CHILDREN TO AID IN NATIONAL CHILD PROTECTION
Microsoft collaborates with Avanade and Digonex to bring urgent
bulletins on abducted children to MSN customers through MSN Alerts
REDMOND — May 15, 2006 — Microsoft Corp.
today announced that AMBER Alerts provided through the National Center
for Missing & Exploited Children’s® (NCMEC) AMBER
Alert Secondary Distribution system will soon be offered through MSN Alerts,
which are distributed to users via MSN Mobile, MSN Hotmail, Windows Live
Mail, MSN Messenger and Windows Live Messenger. Utilizing technology developed
by Avanade and in partnership with Digonex Technologies, Inc., millions
of consumers in the U.S. using MSN and Windows Live services will have
access to timely bulletins of the most serious child-abduction cases.
“The first three hours after a child is abducted are critical
to their safer recovery,” said Ernie Allen, NCMEC President and
CEO. “Adding MSN as an AMBER Alert Secondary Distributor will allow
us to get information about abducted children to more people who can be
on the look out for that abducted child and suspect. This is an excellent
example of technology being used to support the AMBER Alert program, which
has to date led to the successful recovery of more that 260 children.”
The AMBER Plan, named for 9-year-old Amber Hageman, is a program in
which law enforcement agencies, broadcasters and transportation authorities
immediately distribute urgent information about recent child abductions
to the public. The goal of the AMBER Alert is to instantly mobilize the
entire community to assist in the search for and safer recovery of the
child.
“Microsoft’s commitment to safety and security in computing
extends to doing all we can to help protect our communities,” said
Ryan Hamlin, General Manager, Technology Care and Safety Group at Microsoft
Corp. “Taking advantage of the broad reach of MSN’s communication
services for the distribution of AMBER Alerts is a very important facet
in our continued investment in the well-being of children. We’re
very proud to be able to join forces with NCMEC to enhance the extraordinary
work they do to help protect children across the nation through the AMBER
Alert program.”
Each partner has a distinct role in helping deliver the AMBER Alerts
to customers. Avanade, in conjunction with Digonex, is driving the technical
integration of the AMBER Alerts service with the MSN Alerts service. Digonex
will also be providing the on-going hosting environment for the Alerts.
“The work of NCMEC in searching for missing and abducted children
is a very important cause,” said Jan Eglen, Ph.D, CEO of Digonex
Technologies, Inc., and a licensed psychologist. “We are glad to
see Microsoft contribute to this effort and believe its participation
and broad consumer base can help save the life of a child.”
“We are honored to have the opportunity to work with Microsoft
to provide this integrated service,” said Joe Mendel, General Manager
of Avanade. “We believe in the mission of NCMEC. Having another
broad and instant communication mechanism for AMBER Alerts can help make
our communities safer.”
About the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children
(NCMEC)
The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) is a
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, which serves as a national clearinghouse
for information and a resource for child protection. It works in cooperation
with the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention. NCMEC's congressionally mandated CyberTipline, a reporting
mechanism for child sexual exploitation, has handled more than 387,800
leads. Since its establishment in 1984, NCMEC has assisted law enforcement
with more than 119,800 missing child cases, resulting in the recovery
of more than 102,200 children. For more information about NCMEC, please
visit www.missingkids.com or call 1-800-THE-LOST.
About Avanade
Avanade is the leading technology integrator specializing in the Microsoft
enterprise platform. Our people help customers around the world maximize
their IT investment and create comprehensive solutions that drive business
results. Additional information can be found at www.avanade.com.
About Digonex
Digonex Technologies focuses on development of automated and optimized
pricing platforms for e-commerce, allowing client companies to increase
customer retention and maximize revenue. Additionally Digonex has developed
Nabit, a desktop eBay application. For more information, visit Digonex
Technologies website at www.digonex.com Nabit information and downloads
are available at www.getnabit.com
About MSN and Windows Live
MSN® attracts more than 465 million unique users worldwide
per month. With localized versions available globally in 42 markets and
21 languages, MSN is a world leader in delivering compelling programmed
content experiences to consumers and online advertising opportunities
to businesses worldwide. Windows Live, a new set of personal Internet
services and software, is designed to bring together in one place all
the relationships, information and interests people care about most, with
enhanced safety and security features across their PC, devices and the
Web. MSN and Windows Live will be offered alongside each other as complementary
services. Some Windows Live services entered an early beta phase on Nov.
1, 2005; these and future beta updates can be found at http://ideas.live.com.
Windows Live is available at http://www.live.com. MSN is located on the
Web at http://www.msn.com. MSN worldwide sites are located at http://www.msn.com/worldwide.ashx.
About Microsoft
Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq “MSFT”) is the worldwide
leader in software, services and solutions that help people and businesses
realize their full potential.
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Microsoft, Windows Live and MSN are either registered
trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corp. in the United States and/or
other countries. The names of actual companies and products mentioned
herein may be the trademarks of their respective owners.
CONTACT:
For more information, press only:
Rapid Response Team, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, (503) 443-7070, rrt@waggeneredstrom.com
Katie Smith-Adair, Waggener Edstrom Worldwide, (503) 443-7228, katies@waggeneredstrom.com
NCMEC Communications, (703) 837-6111, media@ncmec.org
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