April 14, 1997

New York, NY -- BikeAbout, a non-profit organization specializing in Internet adventures promoting educational and cultural exchange, and Computer Curriculum Corporation (CCC), the leading provider of educational software and services to the school market, today announced a collaborative World Wide Web education project based on the BikeAbout-the Mediterranean Journey. This interactive project will be published on CCC's award-winning education Web site, CCCnet, to provide K-12 classrooms with timely information gathered during the 10,000-mile journey and to enable students to communicate with the BikeAbout-the Mediterranean travelers.

BikeAbout-the Mediterranean is the first fully "wired" circumnavigation of the Mediterranean Sea by bicycle. The all-volunteer, international expedition and team effort is designed to foster an understanding and sense of unity in the Mediterranean through the use of modern technology and cycling. CCCnet's feature of the journey will focus on K-12 instruction in the primary disciplines with content based on national education standards.

Beginning in September, a team of four BikeAbout riders equipped with computers will set out eastward along the Moroccan coast and bicycle the full circumference of the Mediterranean, finishing in Gibraltar in June, more than 10,000 miles later. The CCCnet education project will follow the BikeAbout riders, termed "Internet Jockeys" or "IJs" within the CCCnet project, throughout their nine-month journey. The original, curriculum-based content will be part of CCCnet's Travel Expeditions section where students participate in online virtual field trips.

"BikeAbout will bring the Mediterranean culture to life for students communicating directly with the travelers," said Lori McBride, CCC's vice president of New Media Markets. "By using leading technologies such as streaming audio and live threaded discussions, the Mediterranean travel expedition will engage students' imagination as they learn the culture, geography and history of the area."

CCCnet is CCC's innovative education Web site designed to help teachers and students realize the full instructional potential of the Internet. All of CCCnet's interactive projects are based on national education standards and include online lesson plans for teachers. In addition to the interactive student projects, CCCnet offers an online community that fosters communication among educators.

The Companies

BikeAbout promotes education, peace and cooperative understanding through bicycling and the improved use of technology in all learning environments. BikeAbout aims to increase awareness and access to world regions and their people by traveling by bicycle, meeting the people, and using the unique capabilities of the Internet to share information with students, teachers and other on-lookers around the world. Networked schools and enterprises following the Journeys via the BikeAbout site on the World Wide Web join in a shared adventure of discovery and exchange. The subsequent web of contacts spun by BikeAbout riders and collaborators helps make it possible to continue to share information about the world with the world.

Computer Curriculum Corporation is the leading provider of educational software and services to the school market and a unit of Simon & Schuster. CCC's software is installed in more than 16,000 schools and has been used by more than 10 million students worldwide. CCC has been delivering education technology solutions for 30 years and is extending its reach to a community of learners by offering educational projects over the World Wide Web via CCCnet, adult education solutions through CCC's Invest Learning division and after school education programs through Score@Kaplan nationwide educational centers.

Simon & Schuster, the world's largest educational publisher, is the publishing operation of Viacom Inc. Viacom is one of the world's largest entertainment and publishing companies and a leading force in nearly every segment of the international media marketplace.

For more information on CCCnet projects, visit www.bikeabout.org/cccdefault.htm or call CCC at (800) 455-7910. For more information on BikeAbout's journeys, visit www.bikeabout.org.

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