VerticalNet Supplies Business-to-Business Communities to Alta Vista

VerticalNet today announced an agreement to bring VerticalNet's existing 33 industrial business-to-business vertical communities to co-branded pages on the Alta Vista Internet destination.

As part of this agreement, VerticalNet (www.verticalnet.com) will provide extensive content to Alta Vista. In turn, Alta Vista will build industrial channels housing VerticalNet co-branded communities and provide navigation tools. Among the industries that will be available via the Alta Vista site are communications, electronics, environmental, food and packaging, service, process and science.

"This agreement provides our advertisers with the unique opportunity to gain visibility at a very high level,'' said Mark Walsh, President & CEO of VerticalNet, Inc. "This is the first foray of a major portal into the business-to-business community and that means it's also a major opportunity for our advertisers to get their message out to a core audience of influential industry decision-makers.''

VerticalNet Inc., founded in August 1995, as Water Online, is the Internet's premier developer of business-to-business communities. The publicly traded company (Nasdaq: VERT - news) is based in Horsham, Pa. and currently employs more than 150 people. VerticalNet operates offices in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, New Jersey, Phoenix, Washington, D.C., and Horsham.

VerticalNet currently operates 33 vertical communities including Chemical Online, Food Online, Pharmaceutical Online, Hydrocarbon Online, Semiconductor Online, Water Online, Pollution Online, Power Online, Solid Waste Online, Public Works Online, Medical Design Online, Wireless Design Online, Computer OEM Online, Photonics Online, Property and Casualty Online, Bioresearch Online, Laboratory Network, Plastics Central, Pulp and Paper Online, Paints and Coatings Online, Adhesives and Sealants Online, Oil and Gas Online, Fiber Optics Online, RF GlobalNet (radio frequency and microwave engineering), Premises Network.com, Test and Measurement Online, Plant Automation.com, Food Ingredients Online, Beverage Online, Meat and Poultry Online, Dairy Network, Packaging Network and Safety Online.