Press Release

SAN MATEO, Calif. (August 21, 2008) - Makena Technologies, creator of the popular 3D social virtual world There.com, today announced five new partners participating in its Virtual Merchandise marketing program. Premier apparel providers, K-SWISS, bebe and Eberjey, as well as London-based music merchandiser Bravado and the Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum will be setting up specialty shops featuring lines of virtual merchandise for There.com members to purchase for their avatars.

"As virtual worlds continue to grow in popularity, more brands are entering the space because the quality of virtual goods has become so realistic that consumers can now begin to make real-life purchasing decisions based on an item's virtual counterpart," said Michael Wilson, CEO of There.com. "As virtual worlds continue to become more mainstream, I believe we will see more brands introducing virtual goods to help increase consumer engagement, and in turn, we'll see a 'halo effect' that crosses into the real life."

In 2007, Charles River Ventures analyst Susan Wu estimated that the virtual goods market was worth $1.5 billion. With more consumers entering virtual worlds today, coupled with the increase in branded virtual merchandise, virtual good sales are on the rise and are being thought of by marketers as the new approach to product placements. There.com's new partners will also be offering members ways to easily purchase "real world" merchandise as part of their campaigns, giving them a new revenue channel to leverage.

"We are very interested in looking at the online world to reach our target consumer as we realize they spend an inordinate amount of time there," said Jennifer Weiderman, VP of Global Marketing at K-SWISS. "We have also found that our younger consumers are spending a lot of time specifically on social networking and virtual words. We were interested in the virtual world concept in that it helps create consumer engagement, trial, and buzz for both our footwear and apparel collections."

Each retailer will be creating a virtual storefront where There.com members can purchase virtual and real world merchandise that will consist of items like T-shirts, hoodies, bathing suits, pajamas and shoes. Each brand is introducing between five and 18 virtual goods into the world. This new lineup of brand partners launching virtual merchandise in There.com joins a host of companies who have been running ongoing marketing programs, including Coca-Cola, Scion, CosmoGirl, and the Humane Society of the United States.

About Makena Technologies, Inc.

Makena Technologies is the parent company of There.com, a fully interactive, 3D online virtual world where members can customize and create their own 3D character, meet and hang out with friends in real-time using voice and text chat, build their own virtual homes, participate in events ranging from car races to paintball to fashion shows and even create and sell their own virtual items. There.com is a safe and exciting "PG-13" environment for ages 13 and up that has something to offer nearly anyone. Makena Technologies has offices in San Mateo, CA and Laguna Beach, CA. For more information, visit http://www.there.com.

Press Contact:
Jen Conway
Dotted Line Communications (for There.com)
978.463.0289
jennifer@dottedlinecomm.com