BellSouth Launches BellSouth Messenger Service with Video Chat

ATLANTA, May 5 /PRNewswire/ -- John Teeple knows how easy it is to lose touch. With BellSouth Video Chat, he found a way to reconnect.

After suffering severe injuries in 2000 from a workplace fall off a ladder that left him immobile for several years, Teeple, a graduate student at Bellhaven College in Jackson, Miss., immersed himself in his studies and became detached from many friends he had before the accident.

But after signing up to trial the new BellSouth(R) Video Chat service, Teeple began to reconnect with his friends. Using his BellSouth(R) FastAccess(R) DSL Xtreme service, which reaches downstream speeds up to 3Mbps, Teeple can engage in live streaming video conversations via his instant messaging service. The only equipment he needs is a broadband connection, webcam and microphone.

"When I sign on to the BellSouth Messenger service, my contact list pops up and I can invite a friend to video chat," Teeple said. "It lets me see smiles and laughs -- and that's critical. It's almost like being there." The video chat feature is available through BellSouth Messenger service at no charge to BellSouth(R) Internet Services customers. Messenger service provides customers with the ability to exchange messages in real time with others over the Internet.

"The video chat feature provides customers yet another benefit of high- speed Internet," said Michael Bowling, vice president of data product management for BellSouth. "Now in addition to being able to download and surf the Internet at super-fast speeds, our customers can experience streaming video conversations that connect them visually and audibly with friends and family, no matter where they are."

Teeple is one of the many BellSouth customers who take advantage of the unique ability to access other instant messaging services from one easy-to-use interface. He has instant messenger accounts from BellSouth, AOL, MSN and Yahoo, and can use them all from BellSouth Messenger service.*

Additional BellSouth Messenger features include: - Audio and visual alerts of new messages and status changes - Custom status messages - No advertisements - Secure contact lists

Customers can download BellSouth Messenger service off of the BellSouth Web Portal or by going to http://messenger.bellsouth.net/ . More than 80 percent of BellSouth Dial and FastAccess DSL customers use the BellSouth Web Portal monthly. Most users visit an average of 20 times per month.

The portal provides all BellSouth(R) Dial Internet Service and BellSouth FastAccess DSL customers comprehensive news and information on a full range of topics through channels such as: Entertainment, Family, Money, Health, Shopping, Sports and Tax Center. In addition, BellSouth Web Portal offers great online activities such as BellSouth Webtunes, online games, streaming video, e-greeting cards, horoscopes, chat rooms and much more.

BellSouth Web Portal is available in English at http://www.home.bellsouth.net/ or Spanish at http://www.miportal.bellsouth.net/ .

About BellSouth Corporation

BellSouth Corporation is a Fortune 100 communications company headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. BellSouth has joint control and 40 percent ownership of Cingular Wireless, the nation's largest wireless voice and data provider with more than 50 million customers.

Backed by award winning customer service, BellSouth offers the most comprehensive and innovative package of voice and data services available in the market. Through BellSouth Answers(R), residential and small business customers can bundle their local and long distance service with dial-up and high-speed DSL Internet access, satellite television and Cingular(R) Wireless service. For businesses, BellSouth provides secure, reliable local and long distance voice and data networking solutions. BellSouth also offers online and directory advertising through BellSouth(R) RealPages.com(R) and The Real Yellow Pages(R).

BellSouth believes that diversity and fostering an inclusive environment are critical in maintaining a competitive advantage in today's global marketplace. More information about BellSouth can be found at http://www.bellsouth.com/ .

*To use BellSouth Messenger to communicate with users of AOL, MSN and Yahoo Instant Messengers, customers must first register for their instant messengers and obtain an ID and password from that particular service. They then must enter their ID and password into BellSouth Messenger one time.