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Dialog Continues Building STM Content, Releases New AeroBase Database

CARY, N.C., USA (April 12, 2004) — Dialog, a Thomson (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC) business and a leading worldwide provider of online-based information services and integrated information solutions, today said that it continues to build its collection of scientific, technical and medical (STM) content with the release of a new database containing scientific and technical research related to the global aerospace industry.

The company said its new AeroBase database (File 104, available through Dialog®-branded services) includes references, abstracts and controlled-vocabulary indexing of scientific and technical journal articles, preprints, conference proceedings, books, theses and unpublished literature relating to the aerospace and aeronautical industries and dating back to 1999. At its launch, the database contains more than 20,000 documents, with more added monthly.

Enhancements later this quarter will include additional international journals and conference literature added to the database.

“We expect that our new AeroBase file will be an important resource for researchers and professionals in the aeronautics, astronautics and space sciences, as well as such related fields as chemistry, geosciences, physics, communications, electronics and numerous others,” said Viji Krishnan, Dialog vice president, publisher management. “Our subscribers around the world look to us for the most comprehensive and deepest array of STM content possible. The AeroBase database is the latest in a series of new and improved STM research that we will be offering in the months ahead.”

Krishnan noted information searchable and retrievable through the new AeroBase database touches on such topics as aircraft design and instrumentation, propellants and fuels, lasers and masers (“microwave amplification by stimulated emission of radiation”), structural mechanics, fluid mechanics and heat transfer, among others.

Among the hundreds of STM databases available through Dialog are such well-known multi-disciplinary scientific files as NTIS (National Technical Information Service), INSPEC®, Ei Compendex ©, PASCAL, SciSearch®, Current Contents Search®, JICST (Japanese Science & Technology) and Medline®.

Dialog also offers numerous specialist STM databases, such as RAPRA, Weldasearch® and World Surface Coatings Abstracts, among others.

The new AeroBase database and numerous other STM files are available for subscription through the Dialog Choice pricing option, which offer enterprise-wide access for annual flat fees.

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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 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™, 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 (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC). With 2003 revenues of US$7.6 billion, Thomson (www.thomson.com) is a global leader in providing integrated information solutions to business and professional customers.

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

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