CONTACT:
Stephanie Benes, StartSpot Mediaworks, Inc.
(303) 433-5216
Heidi Hutchinson, FreeShop.com, Inc.
(206) 441-9100 ext. 211, heidih@freeshop.com

StartSpot.com Network of Vertical Portals Launches Co-Branded Web Site with FreeShop.com
Award-winning StartSpot Network Offers Thousands of Free and Trial Offers to Site Visitors

EVANSTON, IL (January 31, 2000) - StartSpot Mediaworks, Inc. (http://www.startspot.com), publisher of the StartSpot.com Network, a growing network of award-winning vertical information portals on the Internet, today launched a co-branded Web site with FreeShop.com, Inc. (Nasdaq: FSHP). The site, FreeShop@StartSpot (http://startspot.freeshop.com), features free, trial and promotional offers for visitors to the StartSpot.com Network, which currently includes LibrarySpot.com, BookSpot.com, GourmetSpot.com, TripSpot.com, GovSpot.com and EmploymentSpot.com.

"With an inventory of more than 1,000 free, trial and promotional offers from nearly 400 companies and more than 1 million online transactions monthly, FreeShop.com has clearly established itself as the leader in the free offer category," said Ian de Hueck, President and CEO of StartSpot Mediaworks, Inc. "Our customers have come to rely on the 'Spots' to provide them with easy access to the best and most relevant online resources for a topic. As a result of our partnership with FreeShop.com, we can now also provide our customers with easy access to an outstanding selection of free catalogs, newsletters and trial offers that match their areas of interest."

"The StartSpot Network of vertical portals has an excellent reputation for showcasing the best of the Web in a particular category, and we are very pleased to partner with StartSpot to provide their customers with the best possible selection of targeted free offers," said Tim Choate, President and CEO of FreeShop.com. "As the StartSpot Network of vertical portals continues to expand, FreeShop.com clients will benefit from the opportunity to provide additional highly targeted offerings to StartSpot customers."

FreeShop@StartSpot utilizes the "Powered by FreeShop" concept, which offers Web sites deeper content, increased repeat traffic and site "stickiness." StartSpot.com will be sharing in a percentage of the revenue generated from the wide array of free and trial offers within the FreeShop site. In addition to the co-branded site, StartSpot Mediaworks will market select FreeShop.com client offers direct from sites within the StartSpot.com Network.

About FreeShop.com, Inc.

FreeShop.com is a leading online direct marketing network, specializing in customer acquisition for marketers. Consumers seeking to explore, learn about or try new products can choose from a variety of free, trial and promotional offers from hundreds of well-known companies. The FreeShop Network includes FreeShop.com (http://www.freeshop.com), featuring free and trial offers; CatalogSite (http://www.catalogsite.com), offering hundreds of free catalogs; and Worldwide Brochures (http://www.wwb.com), offering more than 15,000 free travel brochures. FreeShop.com is headquartered in Seattle, Wash., and publicly traded on Nasdaq: FSHP. For more information, please visit http://corporate.freeshop.com.

About StartSpot.com

Published by StartSpot Mediaworks, Inc., the StartSpot.com Network (http://www.startspot.com) is a growing network of award-winning vertical information portals designed to make finding the best topical information on the Internet a quick, easy and enjoyable experience. Headquartered in the Northwestern University/Evanston Research Park in Evanston, Ill., StartSpot Mediaworks, Inc. strives to create exemplary, high-utility Web resources that also engage, enlighten and inspire. For more information, please visit http://www.startspot.com.

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For press information, please contact Stephanie Benes at (303) 433-5216. For all other information about StartSpot.com, visit us on the Web at http://www.startspot.com or call (847) 866-1830.