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Through the licensing agreement, Microsoft's patented technology will beused in SINA's new couplet service for mobile phones, which allows a mobileuser to send his or her first line of couplet sentence in short messageservice (SMS) form to SINA's server running Microsoft's Chinese coupletgeneration engine. The engine will automatically build the second line andhorizontal scroll bearing an inscription to users in the form of multimediamessage service or SMS. The service will be available by Jan. 6, 2009, in timefor the Chinese New Year (Jan. 26, 2009), when billions of SMS messages willbe sent with New Year's greetings. The Chinese-only couplet site can beaccessed at http://bf.sina.com.cn/newbf/zt/09dl.html. SINA also plans to useMicrosoft's core technology to develop its own additional innovations,allowing the technology to be used in new and extended ways, and helping makemobile value-added services more personal, interactive and fun for consumers.

"Sharing and displaying couplets on Chinese New Year is a tradition thatis thousands of years old, and we are excited that this new collaboration withMicrosoft will help us bring this custom to computers and mobile phones," saidGao-Fei Wang, vice president of SINA Corp. and general manager of SINA Mobile."By working directly with Microsoft Research, we have been able to integrateadvanced machine learning and language technology with our own innovations,expanding a Web-based technology and making it available for mobile and SMS,and delivering a service that is meaningful for our customers in China and thebroader global Chinese community."

"We are pleased that SINA has chosen to license the natural languageprocessing technology created at Microsoft Research," said Hsiao-Wuen Hon,managing director of Microsoft Research Asia, located in Beijing. "Thisagreement exemplifies our commitment to enhancing the consumer experiencethrough intellectual property (IP) collaboration and is an important step inworking more collaboratively with companies in China to help develop a morevibrant IT industry."

Other services that will leverage Microsoft Research Asia's couplettechnology include Microsoft Spring Festival Search, which will release aseries of services in China to catch the Chinese New Year wave.

Given current global economic conditions, licensing IP is good forbusinesses because it helps partners shorten their development cycle andincrease focus on customer-related innovation. This patent licensing agreementis testament to both the quality of Microsoft's patent portfolio andMicrosoft's commitment to working in China with China-based companies.

About Chinese Couplets

Chinese couplets are a popular type of poetry that contains two sentencesand a short cross phrase. These couplets are an important part of China'sheritage.

The Chinese couplet generator from Microsoft Research helps people composeChinese couplets using Natural Language Computing principles. Specifically, ithelps generate a down scroll sentence when an up scroll sentence is input.Furthermore, after a down scroll sentence is selected from system outputs, italso can generate a hengpi based on a selection. This technology also can beused to further Chinese language learning by entertaining and engaging users.

Microsoft's Commitment to Licensing Technology

The licensing agreement is another example of the important role IP playsin ensuring a healthy and vibrant IT ecosystem. Since Microsoft launched itsIP licensing program in December 2003, the company has entered into more than500 licensing agreements -- including a recent collaboration with Chinesecompany Komoxo Mobile Software Inc. -- and continues to develop programs thatmake it possible for customers, partners and competitors to access its IPportfolio. The program was developed to open access to Microsoft's significantresearch and development investments and its growing, broad patent and IPportfolio. Over the past two years, Microsoft has entered into similaragreements with Alpine Electronics Inc., Fuji Xerox Co. Ltd., Kenwood Corp.,Kyocera Mita Corp., LG Electronics, NEC Corp., Nikon Corp., Nortel Networks,Novell Inc., Olympus Corp., Onkyo USA Corp., Samsung and Seiko Epson Corp.

More information about Microsoft's licensing programs is available athttp://www.microsoft.com/ip.

About SINA Corp.

SINA Corporation (Nasdaq: SINA) is a leading online mobile media companyand mobile value-added service provider serving China and the global Chinesecommunities. With a branded network of localized Web sites targeting GreaterChina and overseas Chinese, the company provides services through five majorbusiness lines including SINA.com (online news and content), SINA Mobile(MVAS), SINA Community (Web 2.0-based services and games), SINA.net (searchand enterprise services) and SINA E-Commerce (online shopping). Together thesebusiness lines provide an array of services including region-focused onlineportals, MVAS, search and directory, interest-based and community-buildingchannels, free and premium e-mail, blog services, audio and video streaming,game community services, classified listings, fee-based services, e-commerceand enterprise e-solutions.

About Microsoft

Founded in 1975, Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) is the worldwide leader insoftware, services and solutions that help people and businesses realize theirfull potential.

SOURCE Microsoft Corp.