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Dialog Engages in 'One-on-One' with Information Professionals at Online Information 2001 Event
Leading information provider concludes year with array of fresh content and Quantum² professional development programme

OLYMPIA, LONDON, UK -- 4 December - Dialog, a Thomson business and a leading international provider of online-based information services, is engaging in a 'one-on-one' with its customers at this year's Online Information 2001 event being held at London's Olympia.

The company is showcasing its latest products, services and content - including The Financial Times-- and launching its Quantum² professional development programme aimed at providing lifelong learning for information specialists.

Dialog's stand (number 280 in the Grand Hall, Olympia) is intended to enable any Dialog customer or user -- past, present or future -- to learn of the many improvements and additions to the company's expanding portfolio in recent months.

Ciaran Morton, President of The Dialog Corporation EMEA/AP, said: "Many visitors at Online Information are Dialog customers. This focus on one-on-ones gives us the opportunity to show customers how much progress has been made in 2001 towards addressing their information requirements with new solutions. For those visitors who aren't familiar with our services, these developments reinforce our position as the world's premier information service provider."

In the second half of 2001, Dialog has:

• Grown its content with the addition of over 500 new sources including the FT, John Fairfax Holdings Limited, Reuters Business Insights, Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews and EIU Business Magazines
• Invested in development with products like Dialog1, Dialog IQ, Company Profiles, PrivateStar from DataStar, as well as other enhancements to Profound, Dialog and DataStar, including the availability of remote links to Investext PDF's.
• Developed the Quantum² programme to benefit core information professional customers.

Specific product enhancements include the addition of energy and biotech modules to the Dialog1 online service, the company's easy-to-use Web-based information service for business professionals.

Dialog has also introduced PrivateStar, a significant new capability to DataStar, its online service renowned for its powerful search and retrieval technology. PrivateStar gives information professionals the option to automatically load and store data, including their own research, in private files accessed through the DataStar online databases.

In November, Dialog launched a new stand-alone product, Dialog Company Profiles, offering one-stop access to up-to-the-moment, comprehensive profiles of nearly 500,000 publicly-traded and privately-owned companies from 188 countries.

The new web-based service gives users the ability to quickly generate a list of relevant company profiles and articles drawn from a large collection of reliable online databases, news and business information services, and financial data sources.

Finally, Profound has benefited from a major overhaul and now offers faster performance via AltaVista-powered search technology; enhanced usability and features; additional content and publishers; and standardised worldwide pricing.

Quantum² is Dialog's unique professional development programme, and a key element of the company's commitment to support life-long learning for information professionals. Quantum² allows information professionals to:

• Accelerate their professional development with ongoing workshops, case studies, workbooks and other tools.
• Expand their creative resources with free promotional materials from Dialog that can be distributed to current and potential clients.
• Exchange ideas and creativity with their peers through a regular forum.

Accompanying the launch of Quantum² will be the announcement of Liz Blankson-Hemans as Manager of the Information Professional Development for Dialog EMEA.

Morton said: "This will be our biggest and best Online event ever. Dialog is cementing its position as the online information services provider, with the products, services and content to match."

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About Dialog
Dialog is the worldwide leader in providing online-based information services to organizations seeking competitive advantages in such fields as business, science, engineering, finance and law. Its products and services, such as Dialog®, Profound® and DataStar™, offer organizations the ability to precisely retrieve data from more than 800 million unique records, accessible via the Internet or through delivery to enterprise Intranets. For almost three decades, Dialog's brands have been known for their breadth and depth of content, precision searching and speed. The Winter Corporation recently recognized Dialog for its breadth and depth of content when they named the company the Grand Prize-winner in the Database Scalability Program 2000.

Headquartered in Cary, N.C., USA, with direct operations in 30 countries, Dialog products are used by more than 20,000 corporate customers in over 100 countries. Dialog is a subsidiary of The Thomson Corporation, a leading global e-information and solutions company in the business and professional marketplace with 2000 revenues of approximately $6 billion. The Corporation's common shares are listed on the Toronto (TSE:TOC) and London stock exchanges.

For more information about Dialog, call 1-800-3-DIALOG or visit www.dialog.com. For more information about Thomson, visit www.thomson.com.

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All designated trademarks used herein are the property of The Dialog Corporation or its subsidiaries. Registered marks are registered by The Dialog Corporation or its subsidiaries, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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