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G-Search to Highlight 'Value-Added Content' From Dialog at Database 2003 Tokyo Conference

TOKYO — October 23, 2003 — Dialog, a Thomson (TSX: TOC; NYSE: TOC) business and a leading worldwide provider of online-based information services and integrated information solutions, today said that its long-time partner in the Japanese market, G-Search Ltd., will highlight value-added content from Dialog at next week's Database 2003 Tokyo conference (www.dbtokyo.com) meeting here October 29–31.

Corporate knowledge managers, information professionals, small business owners and managers and others throughout Japan and in all major markets globally use Dialog services for: competitive intelligence; research in various scientific, medical and technical fields; and to monitor industry developments locally and worldwide.

"We've enjoyed a long and prosperous partnership with Dialog, and we're delighted again this year to work with them at the prestigious Database 2003 Tokyo conference," said Masao Morita, G-Search president. Our theme is 'value-added content,' and that is exactly what we offer our users through our work with Dialog."

Added Stuart Doig, Dialog vice president, Asia Pacific:  "Japan is one of the most sophisticated information markets in the world. Its businesses are at the forefront of building strategic advantage through the smart utilization of information across enterprises."

The annual Database Tokyo conference is a premier gathering in the information industry, attracting tens of thousands of corporate information managers, business knowledge experts and research professionals. G-Search (www.gsh.co.jp/), a Fujitsu company, is Japan's leading provider of information and knowledge management consulting services. G-Search also represents Dialog as its sales and marketing agent in Japan.

Among the Dialog services to be showcased at the Database 2003 Tokyo conference are:

• Dialog Portals, a next-generation information service that allows mission-critical business news, research and competitive intelligence to be integrated into enterprise portals and intranets.
  
  
• Dialog NewsEdge, an industry-specific, personalized current awareness and news alerting service for corporations. The service combines up-to-the-minute news, analysis and research culled from thousands of global sources with customized editorial relevance ranking, personally managed by highly experienced editors specializing in their industry sector.
  
  
• Dialog DataStar™, the world's leading source of research and business information focused on the pharmaceutical and biomedical industries.

Japanese Content: News & Company Profiles

Dialog also said that G-Search would promote the extensive portfolio of Japanese intellectual property, scientific research, news sources and company profiles available through Dialog services.

Intellectual Property and Scientific Research: A wide range of Japanese intellectual property and scientific research is available through various Dialog services. One example is TRADEMARKSCAN® - Japan, a database of Japanese trademarks that is accessible through the Dialog® and Dialog Profound® services.

News: Japanese-based sources of news are available through Dialog®NewsRoom, a unified database of nearly 8,000 news sources drawn from 80 countries and available in English and 11 other languages.

Japanese newspapers available for electronic searching and article retrieval through Dialog NewsRoom include Asahi Shimbun, Daily Yomiuri, JiJi and Nikkei Weekly. Wire services include Kyodo News International and the news release distribution service Japan Corporate News. Other content sources include trade and specialty business publications, such as Japan Policy & Politics and JTN's Asian Textile Weekly, among others.

Company Profiles: Dialog recently added detailed data on thousands of Japanese companies, published by business information specialist Kompass, to its Dialog and Dialog DataStar services. The information includes comprehensive data on more than 6,200 Japanese companies, primarily manufacturers involved in import-export businesses based in the Tokyo metropolitan area. The Kompass collection is expected to grow in the near future as data is added for companies based in the Kobe, Kyoto, Nagoya and Osaka regions.

Kompass is a global network of business information publishers that researches companies and sells the data in various formats. Dialog is the only information services provider offering access to Kompass databases.

- Ends -

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 organizations 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™, Dialog 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 organizations 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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