Worldspan announced today that it and MetaTV and Site59, Worldspan`s partners in developing a new interactive television (iTV) travel solution, have been selected as a finalist for the second annual Bandies Awards, the broadband industry`s premier awards event.

The companies` nominee, an iTV travel application that allows consumers to book last-minute travel packages right through their television, is a finalist in the Best Virtual Channel Content category. Winners will be announced at the Bandies 2001 Awards ceremony November 28 in Anaheim, California, in conjunction with The Western Show, broadband`s largest trade show.

Developed jointly by Worldspan and Site59, the leader in last-minute online travel reservations, the new travel application offers fast, easy iTV access to one-of-a-kind getaways and vacation packages for customers booking on short notice. MetaTV`s Universal Portal Platform was utilized to map Worldspan and Site59`s content into TV-centric designs to create a powerful interactive experience for subscribers. MetaTV`s technology is compatible with all major interactive television platforms, potentially enabling multiple deployments of this service.

Worldspan`s iTV application, scheduled for launch in November 2001, allows subscribers to review travel options and make purchases using a TV remote control. Worldspan plans to expand its iTV offerings to enable network operators to deploy a complete set of travel planning capabilities via television-including booking flights, hotels, rental cars, tours and complete travel itineraries.

As the global leader in travel e-commerce, Worldspan is uniquely positioned to add value for cable companies and their customers through the distribution of travel via iTV. Travel is already the leading source of e-commerce transactions on the Web, and analysts project Internet travel bookings will nearly triple in the next few years, from $14.5 billion in 2000 to more than $40 billion in 2003.

MetaTV is a global software technology provider of interactive TV (iTV) portals, services, and enhanced TV applications that enable television viewers to engage in content, community, and commerce. The MetaTV Universal Portal Platform features broadband e-commerce, syndication, advertising, personalization, and content management solutions that exploit the benefits of all major iTV set-top box application platforms. The result is an innovative way to rapidly bring to market new forms of interactivity and revenue-generating TV services.

www.metatv.com


www.Site59.com


www.worldspan.com

 

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