Gay.com Launches New Social Networking Features to Enhance Popular Community Offerings

Gay.com Launches New Social Networking Features to Enhance Popular Community Offerings

Number-One Rated Website Introduces 'Hot List,' 'Buddy List' and 'Who Thinks I'm Hot' Features

SAN FRANCISCO, Dec. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Gay.com, the flagship website of PlanetOut Inc. (NASDAQ:LGBT), has expanded features on its popular global member network of more than 3.3 million active registered members.

The new Gay.com member network, launched in beta phase in October, offers real-time features such as:

-- "Hot List," a module that allows members to list profiles of people
they think are hot on their own profile.
-- "Buddy List," a module for storing friends' profiles for easy,
one-click private messaging.
-- "Who Thinks I'm Hot," a list of people who have placed you on their Hot
List.



The full release of the revamped site, introduced in November, has been met with enthusiasm by Gay.com members. Since its launch, "Hot List" additions have increased by more than 50 percent, to approximately 10,000 additions per day, and "Buddy List" requests have risen by 45 percent to more than 8,000 per day. To date, Gay.com members have added more than one million buddies to their Buddy Lists.

"We believe that the best way to convert our large base of free registered users to paying subscribers is to give them premium features they really want," said Lowell Selvin, Chairman and CEO, PlanetOut Inc. "By listening to our members and launching these popular social networking features, we were able to add more than 8,000 Gay.com subscribers in the third quarter of 2004. We have consistently found that offering new, interactive, member-to-member features on our sites generate organic growth and help convert free members to premium subscribers."

Gay.com offers all of its registered members limited free access to the site, including the ability to post their own personal profiles and photos, search other members' personals profiles, and access basic chat features. For a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription fee, Gay.com members get a full suite of premium features, including the ability to send emails and unlimited private messages to other members, access advanced chat features, view full-sized versions of members' public and private photos, see who thinks they are hot, and video chat with other members.

"As a community-focused company, we've been offering social networking since our founding nearly 10 years ago," Selvin said. "For many of those coming to Gay.com, the Web is a lifeline. It reduces feelings of isolation for openly gay people as well as offering anonymity to those struggling to come out. The power of community is the engine that drives our business."

About PlanetOut Inc.

PlanetOut Inc. is a leading global online media company offering consumer services, news and entertainment to the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) community. The company serves its growing base of more than 3.3 million active members worldwide through a comprehensive group of branded businesses featuring diverse chat, news, entertainment, travel, dating, personal finance, career, shopping and community services at Gay.com, PlanetOut.com, Kleptomaniac.com and OUT&ABOUT Travel. PlanetOut, based in San Francisco, offers FORTUNE 500 advertisers access to what it believes to be the most extensive network of gay and lesbian people in the world. Gay.com ranked number one, among all websites measured, for average time spent per visitor in September and October 2004, according to Nielsen//NetRatings' Loyalty Stickiness Report for at-home visitors in the U.S. For more information, please visit www.planetoutinc.com.


Source: PlanetOut Inc.

CONTACT: media, Trea Robinson of PlanetOut Inc., +1-415-834-6361, or
trobinson@planetoutinc.com; or investors, Lisa Laukkanen of The Blueshirt
Group, +1-415-217-4967, or Lisa@blueshirtgroup.com, for PlanetOut Inc.

Web site: http://www.gay.com/

Web site: http://www.planetout.com/


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