Leading E-Commerce Solutions Provider and Leading Website for Women join forces to offer a unique Online Shopping Channel

October 17th 2002:Altura International, the leading architect, manager and developer of e-commerce shopping solutions, has entered into an agreement with iVillage.co.uk, to power iVillage's new online shopping channel. iVillage UK Shopping, located at iVillage.co.uk/shopping, is Powered by Altura and features over 75,000 products from more than 100 name brand and niche merchants for iVillage.co.uk users to shop from.

iVillage.co.uk Shopping has selected Altura's powerful and flexible e-commerce technology platform, the Altura Merchant Operating System (AMOS), which provides shoppers with a universal shopping basket solution that enables the browsing, selection and purchase of products from multiple merchants in one easy check-out process.

Altura partners with leading retail, e-tail and mail-order companies such as Bensons World, Charles Tyrwhitt, Cotswold Company, Cucina Direct, Dig-It, Gifts Of Course, House of Chocolates, Joe Browns, Kiddycare, Linguaphone, Oka, Plümo, Taste by Mail, Silver Direct, ThinkNatural and Whittards, among others, to provide consumers easy access to tens of thousands of quality products from an array of categories, including Beauty, Books, Videos & CDs, Children, Clothing, Electronics, Home, Sports and Travel, to name a few.

iVillage .co.uk is the UK's no. 1 online resource and community for women. With over 500,000 unique visitors per month and a fast growing user base. It provides an excellent space for a successful shopping channel-especially good news when reports show that women are expected to account for 60% of all UK online users by 2005, and will compose the majority of online shoppers.

John Pincott, European Managing Director at Altura comments, "We are very excited about working with such premiere names on the web as iVillage. This relationship will give a tremendous boost to our merchants' Christmas trading season and further reinforces our position as the leading shopping solution for the World Wide Web's busiest portals."

"iVillage UK provides solutions for busy women. The addition of the shopping channel, complemented by our partnership with Tesco.com is one more way iVillage makes women's lives easier by allowing them to access a virtual high street from their PC" says Phil Rooke, CEO of iVillage.co.uk.