TORONTO, July 28 /CNW/ - Sympatico is the most visited Canadian website
by Internet users, according to Media Metrix June 2000 Total Canada at Home
Web Use Report. The total number of unique visitors to Sympatico, the top .ca
site, has grown from 3.3 to 3.4 million since May.
    For the second consecutive month, the French Sympatico site is ranked
first, with a total of more than a million unique visitors. Also of note,
since the May report, Sympatico reaches now almost one-third of all Canadian
web users.
    The new Lycos applications that are gradually being introduced on
sympatico.ca combined with the local and national content from our partners
that is constantly added on the portal have made Sympatico the favourite
Canadian site for millions of Internet users. This success will help to retain
the Canadian traffic on the web in Canada and confirms Sympatico content
strategy.
    With close to 3.5 million unique users and over 83 million page views per
month sympatico.ca is fast becoming the primary gateway for advertisers and
corporations seeking to reach Canadian online users. The breadth of content,
news, tools and resources span over 20 business and lifestyle categories, and
includes partnerships with Travelocity.ca, E(star)Trade, workopolis,
HealthCentral.com, Indigo.ca, globefund.com and globeinvestor.com.
    The sympatico.ca portal is owned and operated by Sympatico Lycos Inc., a
joint venture between Bell ActiMedia Inc. and Lycos, Inc., with offices in
Toronto and Montreal. Bell ActiMedia is the Bell Canada subsidiary responsible
for directory publishing and Bell's Internet portal strategy. Visit the web
site at: www.sympatico.ca
    Bell Canada provides a full range of communications services to
customers, including wired and wireless local and long distance telephone
services, Internet access, high-speed data services and directories. Bell
Canada, its telecom partners and subsidiaries provide services through
13.6 million access lines, including 11 million in Ontario and Québec. Bell
Canada also serves more than 2.5 million wireless customers through Bell
Mobility. Bell Canada is 80% owned by BCE Inc. of Montréal and 20% owned by
SBC Communications Inc. of San Antonio, Texas. Bell Canada's Internet Web site
is located at www.bell.ca. News releases, speeches and background information
are in the Newsroom. Our e-mail address is forum@bell.ca



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For further information: Irene Shimoda, Bell Canada Media Relations,
(416) 581-3311, 1 888 482-0809, irene.shimoda@bell.ca; Marie-Eve Savard,
Bell Canada Media Relations, (514) 391-2007, 1 877 391-2007