Mannea Develops New Virtual World Technology

Monday, July 2nd, 2007 at 1:39 am | News

WEST PALM BEACH, FL, Jul 02, 2007 (MARKET WIRE via COMTEX) — Mannea, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Church & Crawford (PINKSHEETS: CCWD), announced today that it has developed and will soon deploy unique technology that will allow users in virtual worlds to find locations as easy as using a traditional 2D website; using existing web URLs.

Mannea founder Charles Lawrence said, “As virtual worlds continue to grow over the next few years, hundreds of millions of people who have grown up on the Web will be using virtual worlds — new 3D social network platforms — for the first time. But over a billion users around the world already experience the traditional web as places and destinations defined by URLs, such as http://www.mannea.com.”

Lawrence continued, “As the spread of virtual worlds expands in the coming years, with more people migrating to the emerging 3D web for everyday use, it will be vital that businesses migrate as well. Companies have already invested millions of dollars in advertising and marketing on 2D websites since the Internet first exploded in the mid-1990s. For many businesses, their customers now interact with them in large part, or exclusively, through their web presences. At Mannea, we will continue to offer products that refine the 3D web, or virtual world, experiences in the same way.”

According to the Company, current virtual world users are unable to easily find preferred locations unless the site appears in the built-in search function, or unless the user has created a “landmark” for the site; a virtual card that contains in-world location information. With Mannea’s new technology, any user who knows a particular website name can easily find that name in Second Life, simply by typing in the URL.

Lawrence continued. “We believe that this new technology will be an important bridge in helping transition people from traditional 2D web experiences to the much more immersive and versatile 3D environments, by letting them continue to find their familiar businesses and favorite destinations just as they always have, by the website name.”

Mannea’s new system allows any person or company that wants to tie their web-based URL to a location in virtual worlds to do so. Companies that have spent millions on their marketing will not have to spend millions more to make the public aware of their new virtual locations, ensuring their existing brands will continue to be important and recognizable in virtual world communities.

About Church & Crawford

Church & Crawford, Inc. (PINKSHEETS: CCWD) operates through its wholly owned subsidiary Mannea, LLC (http://www.mannea.com/), an online media and advertising company that integrates real life products and services with the particular culture and community of Internet-based virtual worlds. Its primary target operating market is Second Life, an active, online virtual community and marketplace developed by Linden Labs, with more than 5.6 million active residents.

In conjunction with Mannea, Church & Crawford is implementing an aggressive roll-up strategy to pursue unique opportunities that include both Internet- and brick and mortar-based acquisition candidates with extraordinary potential for long-term growth under its public umbrella.

SAFE HARBOR ACT: This press release contains statements which may constitute “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the Securities Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended by the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Prospective investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, and that actual results may differ materially from those contemplated by such forward-looking statements. Important factors, currently known to management that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include fluctuation of operating results, the ability to compete successfully and the ability to complete before-mentioned transactions. The company undertakes no obligation to update or revise forward-looking statements to reflect changed assumptions, the occurrence of unanticipated events or changes to future operating results.

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