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Dialog to Spotlight New Zealand News & Research Sources at Hawke's Bay Library Conference

AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND (7 October 2003) — Dialog, a Thomson (TSX: TOC; NYSE: TOC) business and a leading worldwide provider of online-based information services and integrated information solutions, said today that it will spotlight its portfolio of New Zealand news and research content at the annual Library and Information Association of New Zealand Actearoa conference (www.confer.co.nz/lianza2003/) being held this week in Hawke's Bay.

Dialog collects content — ranging from news articles and analysis published in newspapers and magazines and market research produced by the world's leading consulting firms, to scholarly inquiries published in scientific, medical and technical journals, to extensive databases of intellectual property records gathered from around the world — and then makes the information available through its various online services to users in all major markets globally.

A number of New Zealand-originating information sources are included in Dialog® NewsRoom, a unified database of nearly 8,000 news sources drawn from 80 countries and available in English and 11 other languages.

New Zealand sources accessible through Dialog NewsRoom include leading national and regional newspapers (examples: Nelson Mail, Southland Times, Sunday Star Times and Timaru Herald); trade publications (such as New Zealand Printer Magazine, NZ Infotech Weekly and Travel Digest); and specialty journals (examples: Social Policy Journal of New Zealand and the Reserve Bank Bulletin).

Editors: For a demonstration of Dialog products and services, or for an analysis of how online information services are impacting businesses in New Zealand, please contact Mr. John Hall in Auckland (phone: +64 9 9174323, email: ).

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About Dialog and The Thomson Corporation
Dialog, a pioneer in developing the technology behind electronic information retrieval, is the world leader in providing online-based information services to organisations seeking competitive advantages in such fields as business, science, engineering, finance and law.

Today, the online services provided by Dialog — offered through the Dialog®, Dialog Profound®, Dialog DataStar™, NewsEdge and Intelligence Data brands — give users the ability to precisely retrieve data from more than 1.4 billion unique records, accessible via the Internet or through delivery to enterprise intranets. Searchable content includes articles and reports from thousands of real-time news feeds, newspapers, broadcast transcripts and trade publications, plus research reports and analyst notes providing support for financial decision-making, as well as in-depth repositories of scientific and technical data, patents, trademarks and other intellectual property data. Information professionals and end-users at business, professional and government organisations in more than 100 countries prize Dialog services for their depth and breadth of content, precision searching and speed.

Based in Cary, N.C., USA, Dialog has operations in 31 other countries. Dialog (www.dialog.com) is a business of The Thomson Corporation (TSX: TOC; NYSE: TOC). With 2002 revenues of US$7.8 billion, Thomson (www.thomson.com) is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers.

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 with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office. All other marks are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

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