PRESS RELEASE Of interest to editors and journalists covering: Politics, DotCom/Internet, Computing, Telecom, Software, DC News Virtual Candidates Are the New Face of Campaign Websites WASHINGTON, D.C. ­ August 27, 2004 /Send2Press Newswire/ -- Two technology companies have partnered to offer a first of its kind technology to political candidates. Campaign technology company ElectionMall Technologies, Inc. and Oddcast, a company that develops and distributes conversational character software products, have allied to bring virtual technology to campaign websites. The partnership will combine ElectionMall Technologies' award winning web tools and Oddcast's VHost(tm) technologies. The new product CampaignPal(tm) will enable candidates to cost- effectively place their talking likeness or other characters directly on their websites. The animated hosts will greet website visitors and provide real-time campaign updates. Through their partnership with Oddcast, ElectionMall Technologies will be offering a CampaignPal(tm) website that will link directly from a candidate's website. Along with the virtual candidate, the site will enable the candidate to include links for visitors to contribute, view breaking news and more. ElectionMall Technologies' products and services are currently being used by both major parties in hundreds of campaigns throughout the United States. The Oddcast VHost(tm) technology allows candidates to choose from a variety of pre-existing animated characters or have one created in their own likeness for an extra fee. Everything from clothing and hair color can be customized and messages can be easily updated by telephone. Oddcast's VHost(tm) technology is already being used on the corporate websites of many top international companies by helping to drive higher marketing ROI and click through rates. "Through our strategic partnership we have introduced the best of business technology to campaigns and elections," said Ravi Singh, CEO of ElectionMall Technologies. "We have realized that candidates are too busy to take advantage of these technologies, so we stepped in. Now candidates, down to the most local level, can use the same technology utilized by some of the nation's top companies." "Our conversational character products have outstanding success in increasing sales, click- through and conversion rates for our commercial clients," explained Oddcast CEO Adi Sideman. "I am certain VHost products will help candidates increase online contributions, awareness and web traffic." Founded by Ravi Singh in 1999 and funded by Microsoft executive George Spix,, ElectionMall Technologies, Inc. offers technologies to help candidates win elections . Singh, an expert in online campaigns, was recently named one of the "five new powerbrokers whose sites and bytes may well influence how you cast your ballot come November" by USA Weekend magazine. In 2002, ElectionMall.com won a Pollie Award for technology from the American Association of Political Consultants. ElectionMall Technologies is also a member of the European Association of Political Consultants (EAPC) and the International Association of Political Consultants (IAPC). The non- partisan company has offices in Washington, D.C., Chicago and Los Angeles. Founded in 1999, Oddcast (www.oddcast.com) develops and distributes conversational character software products. Oddcast's core technology, the VHost(tm) Platform, enables companies to improve business results by bringing web and wireless content to life through conversational agents. The Oddcast VHost(tm) platform is the industry-leading solution for enhancing online communication with intelligent, conversational characters that can deliver information and respond dynamically to customer queries. All of Oddcast's products are Web-based and ASP-hosted and can be delivered to any device even in low-bandwidth environments - PCs, CD-ROMs and mobile devices. The company serves over 1800 customers, including Coca-Cola, Gillette, Nextel, Verizon, L'Oreal, Holiday Inn, Viacom, Burger King and Chevrolet. More information: http://www.electionmall.com Media Contacts: Dana Dickey of ElectionMall Technologies +1-202-315-6436 Dana@electionmall.com Michael Volpatt +1-917-678-0187 Michael@larkinvolpatt.com All trademarks acknowledged # # # [ source of news = ElectionMall Technologies, Inc. ] ref: http://www.send2press.com/2archive/2004/pr04-082703-electionmall.txt http://www.send2press.com/2archivePDF/pr04-082703-electionmall.pdf ----------------------------------------------------------------- *IMPORTANT NOTE TO MEDIA: to reach the organization releasing this news, please contact: Dana@electionmall.com (media only) If used for publication, please send specimen copy. ----------------------------------------------------------------- S2P-NP / 0C / DC / WASHINGTON, District of Columbia / USA / English Copr. (c) 2004 Send2Press Newswire. This release was issued on behalf of the above organization, who is solely responsible for accuracy of content, by Send2Press(TM), a unit of Neotrope(R). http://www.Send2Press.com [www.DotComNewswire.com] references: ----------- Politics, Government, election, Internet, Websites and DotComs, elect, electionmall, oddcast, VHost, V Host, wireless, candidates