Packard Bell to Power Interactive Services on 1 Million PCs with BackWeb's Polite Push Technology

Europe's Home PC Leader to Launch ActivSurf Online Remote Control with Automatic Delivery of Interactive Content

SAN JOSE, Calif. — October 25, 2000 — BackWeb® Technologies (Nasdaq: BWEB), a leading provider of push communications infrastructure for e-business, and Packard Bell, the Consumer Division of NEC Computers International and the leader in the European home PC market, today announced a long-term alliance to deploy BackWeb's patented Polite™ push technology on 1 million Packard Bell PCs through 2001. With BackWeb technology, Packard Bell is enabling every user of its next-generation PCs throughout Europe to take advantage of personalized Internet services and support.

BackWeb's scalable push infrastructure allows Packard Bell and its partners to deliver any type of pre-defined service or content to users' desktops. The content is delivered through ActivSurf, a unique software "remote control" developed by BackWeb accessible from Microsoft Windows desktop. ActivSurf serves as a portal to quality online services, including technical support, software updates, FAQ support, training and e-mail. ActivSurf also serves as the main information channel for news and entertainment, including: search and directory services from Yahoo!, MP3 with WinAmp, special events promotion with Disney.

"ActivSurf represents a significant new application in our home i solutions strategy to provide our Packard Bell customers new ways of enjoys their PCs through Internet technologies," said Gilles Domartini, Internet Senior Manager, Consumer Division - NEC Computers International. "ActivSurf takes the worry out of ongoing PC maintenance while offering a groundbreaking selection of rich media content channels. We are excited to work with BackWeb to bring this unique service to millions of PC users throughout Europe."

ActivSurf allows users to securely select the content they want to receive from Packard Bell partners, with the privacy of each user protected through the ActivSurf program. Packard Bell is localizing this service in 10 languages, and will start shipment with its new fall product range.

With BackWeb, Packard Bell also can streamline user maintenance by establishing a permanent "Polite Contact" with each user, enabling the company to remain close with customers and automate the delivery of updates and fixes as they are needed. Because BackWeb's Polite push technology allows ActivSurf content providers to send information only when network bandwidth is available, users can receive content in the background and with no effect on performance of other network applications such as email and browsing.

"BackWeb is proud to work closely with Packard Bell to enable proactive delivery of next-generation content and services for millions of European PC users," said Eli Barkat, Chairman and CEO of BackWeb Technologies. "With BackWeb, Packard Bell has taken a profound step forward to ensure its home i solutions customers always receive the right information at precisely the right time."

Using interactive flash messages enabled by BackWeb technology, ActivSurf displays at user's convenience notices of new features and services, allowing users to simply check "yes" or "no" to subscribe to such services. While Packard Bell initially is deploying BackWeb client software to serve home i solutions throughout Europe, the company eventually plans to expand its use of BackWeb to keep close relationship with its network of retailers and sales people.

While Packard Bell initially is deploying BackWeb client software to serve home i solutions throughout Europe, the company eventually plans to expand its use of BackWeb to keep close relationship with its network of retailers and sales people. Packard Bell is evaluating the introduction of bundled services that reach users beyond the desktop using Universal Push technology provided by the BackWeb Push Application Server.

About Packard Bell
Created in 1991, Packard Bell, the consumer brand of NEC Computers International, is one of Europe's home PC leaders with a 10.7% market share, 467 894 PCs sold and a rate of growth of 46% in Q2 2000 (Source: Dataquest – August 2000). Packard Bell's strategy is to propose powerful home i solutions through expanded product lines, latest technologies, bold new designs, stronger partnerships and all-inclusive Internet offer, designed to meet the specific needs of the general public and sold exclusively through major retail outlets Backed by its philosophy and its leading role on the market, Packard Bell created in 1999 the Packard Bell European Institute of Home Computing, which aims to observe, study, analyse and inform, with regard to the PC's influences on the everyday life of Europeans at home.

About NEC Computers International
NEC Computers International (NEC CI) is a core company of NEC Corporation (NASDAQ: NIPNY). NEC CI provides personal computers, servers and Internet solutions to corporations, individuals, government and other public sector agencies. NEC CI combines the assets of Packard Bell and NEC Corporation's personal computer and server operations in Europe, USA (excluding Packard Bell) and Asia-Pacific (excluding Japan and China). The company's strategic objective is to offer innovative and global solutions to its clients through a uniform business platform, superior technologies, and its geographical synergies.

About BackWeb Technologies
BackWeb Technologies is a leading offline Web software company. BackWeb extends the value of technology investments by offering mobile and remote employees offline access to portals, intranets and other Web-based applications and content. The company's products reduce network costs and improve the productivity of an increasingly mobile workforce. At the core of BackWeb's products is its patented Polite® synchronization technology that can distribute large amounts of data even over narrow bandwidth connections. BackWeb® customers include market leaders such as Boehringer Ingelheim, Centocor, Eastman Kodak, GE Healthcare, Guidant, HP, KLA Tencor, Lam Research, Pfizer and more than one hundred other companies. BackWeb also has strategic reseller alliances with software industry leaders: Plumtree, SAP and IBM. The company is headquartered in San Jose, Calif. and Rosh Ha'ayin, Israel. For more information, visit www.backweb.com or call (800) 863-0100.

Statements in this news release, which are not purely historical, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the U.S. Securities laws, including statements of beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. Examples of these statements include, but are not limited to, the ability of BackWeb software to allow customers to gain mobile, disconnected use of their portals and help increase field sales and field service productivity, the integration of BackWeb software with BEA products will help developers extend portal applications for offline use without changing the way they work, and the ability of the resulting applications to help field sales and service organizations realize maximum productivity, cost savings, and process acceleration gains while disconnected from the network. Actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include unforeseen technological issues related to use of the BackWeb software, deployment issues related to implementation, unforeseen software errors, competitive factors and business and expense factors that may affect the perceived efficiencies from use of BackWeb's products, and the risks and uncertainties detailed from time to time in BackWeb's periodic reports and registration statements filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. BackWeb assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release.