Introduces Daily Refresh of 50% of Search Results Shown, AltaVista Prisma™
Now in Five Languages, Streamlined Look-and-Feel, and News 2.0

PALO ALTO, Calif.,November 12, 2002 - AltaVista Company, a leading global provider of search services and a majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc. (Nasdaq: CMGI), today unveiled new features and functionality to advance the Internet search experience and expand the company's core search service to more users. New tools include News 2.0, the next generation of the company's comprehensive news-specific search service, and French, German, Italian and Spanish versions of AltaVista Prisma, the company's powerful assisted search tool which helps users refine their searches and find exactly what they are seeking quickly and easily. AltaVista is combining these tools with other improvements including a new index that delivers unique, highly relevant results; daily refreshes of over 50% of search results shown; and .pdf file search capabilities that deliver on its 'Power of Precision' strategy for providing users with one of the best search experiences on the Web.

With this launch, AltaVista reasserts its leadership position. Over the past six months, we have streamlined our operations and focused 100% on our core business and our core strength search technology, said Jim Barnett, Chief Executive Officer of AltaVista Company. We are concentrating on product development with increased functionality including interactive or 'assisted search' tools and support for new media types and information sources. In addition, we have improved the freshness of search results significantly and are delivering our best-ever index while continuing to filter superfluous results including duplicate pages, spam and dead links.

New Features and Functionality

• 50% of displayed search results refreshed daily
• News 2.0, the next generation of AltaVista's popular news search service, including archived Forbes articles
• The ability to search documents stored in .pdf file format on web sites
• AltaVista Shortcut Answers for fast zip code, area code and currency look ups
• 'More Precision' tool to give users more control over their searches
• Elimination of pop-up and pop-under ads on AltaVista's sites
• Tracer™ ads for even more relevant advertising
• AltaVista Prisma assisted search tool in four additional languages

Search Basics - Relevancy, Freshness, Language
While recognizing that the relevancy of results is even more important than index size, AltaVista has crawled over five billion pages and eliminated duplicate pages, dead links and spam to create an even better experience for users. In addition, the company now refreshes over 50% of the search results displayed on a daily basis to give users access to the most up-to-date content, and is introducing an enhanced country-language interface that provides appropriate default country and language settings for users based on their location and browser settings, yet also allows users to change the country and language settings based on their individual needs. AltaVista also lets users select any combination of 26 languages in which to conduct searches. For example, if someone reads German, Italian and English, they can search simultaneously for results written in all three languages. Searchers can use AltaVista's popular Babel Fish Translation tool to help them translate query terms and results using 11 language pairs (such as English/Chinese, French/German and Russian/English).

Comprehensive Data Sources Including Free Full-Text News Search
Building on its commitment to providing comprehensive and relevant information, AltaVista is rolling out version 2.0 of its award-winning News search, with new features and functionality based in large part on user feedback. With over four million fully indexed news articles from 3,000 sources going back over a year, continual discovery of new articles and updates every 15 minutes, News 2.0 is one of the most robust free News search services on the Web. Building on popular features such as 'sort by date' and image thumbnails in the results, enhancements to the free service include the ability to search news articles by date, region, topic and by selected sources, as well as access to articles from Forbes going back to 1997. News 2.0 takes advantage of AltaVista Prisma technology to suggest related topics in the news. In addition, audio and video images from News 2.0 will be added to the company's robust multimedia index.

"We asked our users what they wanted in the next generation of our news search, and are thrilled that we were able to implement so many of their suggestions in developing what we believe is the most comprehensive free news search service available today," said Fred Bullock, Chief Marketing Officer for AltaVista. "We offer more news sources and give users greater flexibility in sorting and refining their results. Furthermore, where other free news services may provide archives going back only 30 days, we give users access to stories going back a year (or more) for a greater historical perspective in their research."

AltaVista also provides links to the 'invisible Web' with AltaVista Shortcuts, which provide relevant, high-quality results from sources not normally available to search engines. These include, but are not limited to: maps, directions, weather, city guides and yellow and white page listings. A new feature called AltaVista Shortcut Answers provides answers to simple, frequently asked questions such as 'what is the area code' for a given city. This information is typically hidden below the surface of the Web and can take time for searchers to locate. In its first release, AltaVista Shortcut Answers delivers immediate answers for users seeking area code, zip code or currency conversion information.

Assisted Search for Greater Precision
AltaVista Prisma is the first implementation of the company's assisted search philosophy. Now available in five languages (English, French, German, Italian and Spanish), AltaVista Prisma quickly returns a spectrum of the words, phrases, names and concepts associated with the user's search. This instantaneous feedback helps narrow search results while revealing important related topics and surfacing the most useful paths of inquiry. For example, a user entering the term 'Doors' could be seeking information to purchase new garage doors or a fan club site about the late Jim Morrison. Prisma suggests terms to help the user modify the search and focus on the results most relevant to their query. This helps novice searchers better communicate the intent of their queries quickly and easily and exposes expert searchers to related issues they may not have otherwise considered.

In addition, as part of AltaVista's offering of powerful, precise tools for Web searching, the company has added a 'More Precision' query builder that integrates the most popular features from the Advanced Search interface into a more mainstream search function. It lets users refine their search while looking at their search results, giving them immediate feedback. AltaVista is helping users to construct more precise queries without the need to learn Boolean syntax.

Direct Marketing/Streamlined Advertising Approach
AltaVista recognizes that the online advertising market is moving more toward direct marketing campaigns and is introducing new programs to help advertisers better target their audiences and deliver the appropriate information to users who need it. AltaVista eliminated pop-up and pop-under ads in August in response to user feedback. The company is test marketing Tracer ads, which are designed to allow advertisers to better target their audiences and match users' needs to advertisers' messages. Tracer ads are related directly to users' recent searches, increasing the relevancy between searchers' interests and the ads they are shown.

'Power of Precision' Includes New Logo and Streamlined Look-and-Feel
Today's announcement marks the latest of the company's initiatives geared toward delivering the Power of Precision - powerful tools for obtaining precisely the results searchers and direct marketers are seeking. In addition to the new features and functionality launched today, the company has also unveiled a new site design with a streamlined look-and-feel. The new logo reflects the company's re-energized approach and focus on search. The company plans to continue enhancing its services to make it even easier for users to find the precise results they are seeking.

About AltaVista Company
Internet search pioneer AltaVista Company is a leading global provider of search services and technology. The company continues to advance Internet search with new technologies and features designed to improve the search experience for all users. Built on a foundation of over 50 technology patents, with innovations in multilingual and translation support, AltaVista provides integrated search results to give users immediate access to relevant information including Web pages, multimedia files and up-to-the-minute news. Headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., AltaVista is a majority-owned operating company of CMGI, Inc. (Nasdaq: CMGI). For more information see http://www.altavista.com.

AltaVista is a registered trademark and AltaVista Prisma and Tracer are trademarks of AltaVista Company. This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. These forward-looking statements include without limitation statements that AltaVista's users will want to use the new features of AltaVista's search services and that advertisers will want to place advertisements using AltaVista's Tracer ads. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results and events to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, among others, the implementation of the new features and services described herein may not be successful or may not generate revenue or other economic benefit for AltaVista. For a discussion of other risks that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from such forward-looking statements, see CMGI, Inc.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for the most recently ended fiscal year. AltaVista undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances occurring after the date of this press release.

Media Contacts:
Judith Schwartz
650-320-7319
judith.schwartz@av.com

Joanne Sperans Hartzell
650-320-6379
joanne.hartzell@av.com