(21 September, 1999) - Icon Medialab Finland and Finnkino, a Finnish movie theatre chain, have signed a contract on developing a WAP-service for Finnkino. Users of WAP (Wireless Application Protocol) enabled phones and devices will be able to access the movie and theatre information services of Finnkino, and later also reserve and pay for tickets via WAP. This new service, developed by Icon Medialab Finland, will be taken into use this autumn.

In the first phase of the project, WAP users will be able to browse through information on theatres and show times in different cities and towns using a dedicated WAP interface developed by Icon Medialab Finland. The user can also find information on movies and read a short summary of the plot of a particular movie.

"This is an important step in the development work with which Finnkino aims to make the acquisition of movie tickets to be easy, regardless of place and time. It is interesting and challenging to be one of the pioneers in developing new service concepts," says Finnkino marketing director Reijo J�mes.

In the future, the service will be further enhanced with the possibility of purchasing movie tickets on-line, regardless of time and place. As wireless e-commerce is starting to emerge with the implementation of WAP technology to the wireless world, WAP-enabled ticket sales will be one of the first noteworthy and value-adding concepts. Co-operation with Merita-Nordbanken, one of the leading bank groups in the Nordic countries and the Baltic region, has already been agreed upon. In paying the tickets, a WAP interface-enabled version of the Merita Solo electronic payment service will be used.

"The Finnkino products and services are extremely suitable for the WAP environment. Moreover, the target group is appropriate. Thus the service can be said to bring true benefit for a person who invests in a WAP device", says management consultant Matt Blomqvist of Icon Medialab Finland.

This collaboration with Finnkino is a concrete example of Icon Medialab's strong commitment to developing WAP services. Icon Medialab has recently joined the WAP Forum - the industry association comprising more than 175 members that has developed the de-facto world standard for wireless information and telephony services on digital mobile phones and other wireless terminals - as the only full member from the field of the new media industry. This ensures Icon Medialab's opportunity to contribute to the future development of wireless internet services.

Contacts:

Matt Blomqvist, Icon Medialab Finland, phone: +358-9-684 08223 e-mail: [email protected]
Reijo J�mes, Finnkino Oy, phone: +358-9-1311 9381 e-mail: [email protected]
Tuomo Virkkunen, phone: +358-9-165 25859 e-mail: [email protected]

Icon Medialab was founded in march 1996. Icon has over 600 employees in eight countries. Icon offers a full range of services within the field of interactive digital communication, with focus on strategic solutions on internet, intranet, extranet and e-commerce. CEO is Ulf Dahlsten. The share is traded on the Stockholm Stock Exchange O-list.