Cannes, February 24, 2004 - PacketVideo Network Solutions, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcatel (Paris: CGEP.PA and NYSE:ALA), and VRTV Studios join forces to provide a unique solution which allows mobile phone users to create and send animated content with simple text messages. 

PacketVideo Network Solutions, Inc. and VRTV Studios provide Wireless Network Operators, ISPs and corporations with ground-breaking multimedia messaging solutions targeting video phones powered by PacketVideo. With this new solution, MMS messages are delivered and vocalized by virtual messengers (including animation and synthetic speech).

When the mobile user wants to send an animated message, he just needs to select a virtual messenger and send it by MMS together with a text message to another mobile user who will directly receive the animation on screen. To optimize the service and offer message customization, the service proposes an extensive library of ready-to-speak virtual messengers. Once users have downloaded a character on their handsets, they just send them with a short message.

"Our service with VRTV signals the beginnings of mobile video interactivity where every user can become a publisher of content via a simple MMS" says Patrick Parodi, General Manager Europe and Latin America of PacketVideo Network Solutions, Inc.

"This solution was designed to work with the standards of wireless networks: all content produced is delivered to end users in either video streaming and/or MMS formats with no need to download any plug-in, which greatly facilitates both the acceptance and usage of our solutions by customers" says Jer™me Archambeaud, CEO of VRTV Studios.

This solution is hosted on the VRTV One Wireless Content Production and Encoding Platform & is distributed through PacketVideo Network Solutions, Inc. PVServer.

About Alcatel
Alcatel provides communications solutions to telecommunication carriers, Internet service providers and enterprises for delivery of voice, data and video applications to their customers or to their employees. Alcatel leverages its leading position in fixed and mobile broadband networks, applications and services to bring value to its customers in the framework of a broadband world. With sales of EURO 12.5 billion in 2003, Alcatel operates in more than 130 countries.

PacketVideo Network Solutions, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Alcatel and previously a division of PacketVideo, was founded in 1998 and is recognized as the world's premier independent provider of mobilemedia software. PacketVideo Network Solutions, Inc. designs and develops software solutions to facilitate the distribution of multimedia-based communications, offering the pvServer product line of multimedia distribution software. pvServer has been through rigorous testing, leading to the commercial launch by over a dozen carriers, content providers and ASPs worldwide. pvServer is both 3GPP and 3GPP2 network compliant and has been designed to provide the best possible user experience given the vagaries of mobile networks. PacketVideo Network Solutions, Inc. has also extended the standards with value-added technologies such as Frametrack and FastTrack download that provides the best possible user experience.

VRTVStudios is a software developer and service provider specialized in the multimedia mobile environment (MMS, I-Mode, WAP, Video, etc.). VRTVStudios mission is to provide Operators, ISPs and Corporations with innovative, lifestyle messaging solutions delivering real benefits to end users. At the center of VRTVStudios' solutions is Text-to-Broadcast™, a patented, server-based production software transforming simple text into animation presented by virtual characters [animation + voice]. VRTVStudios' content and animation are delivered to customers through global standards such as MMS and Video Streaming, fostering customer adoption and commercial success.