SEATTLE, Jul 16, 2002 -- Today Amazon.com (Nasdaq: AMZN)
launched its first version of "Amazon.com Web Services," a platform for creating
innovative Web solutions and services designed specifically for developers and
web site owners.
By using Amazon.com Web Services (www.amazon.com/webservices) developers can
build applications and tools that will allow them to incorporate many of the
unique features of Amazon.com into their web sites -- free of charge.
"We're putting out a welcome mat for developers -- this is an important
beginning and new direction for us," said Jeff Bezos, founder and CEO of
Amazon.com. "Developers can now incorporate Amazon.com content and features
directly onto their own websites. We can't wait to see how they're going to
surprise us."
Among its many features, Amazon.com's Web Services will allow third party sites
to search and display products from Amazon.com's web site, and enable visitors
to those sites to add items to their Amazon.com shopping carts. Developers can
access AWS through two industry standards: XML and SOAP (Simple Object Access
Protocol).
"Amazon.com's Web Services harnesses the vast array of product information
already available on its web site and turns it into a resource for developers as
well as users," said Tim O'Reilly, CEO of O'Reilly & Associates. "This is a
significant leap forward in the next-generation programmable internet."
Amazon.com Web Services is available free of charge. It is also integrated with
the Amazon.com Associates Program (http://www.amazon.com/associates) which
allows web sites to earn referral fees from purchases made at Amazon.com via
links on their web sites. The powerful combination of Amazon.com Web Services
and the Associates Program will allow developers to incorporate more Amazon.com
features onto their web sites, ultimately driving more traffic and more referral
fees as a result.
About Amazon.com Associates Program:
Launched in 1996, the Amazon.com Associates Program is the world's leading
online affiliate marketing program. Web sites that are part of the Amazon
Associates Program can earn up to 15 per cent for sales generated by referred
visitors on thousands of new and used qualifying items. Currently, over 800,000
sites have enrolled in the Associates Program worldwide.
About Amazon.com:
Amazon.com, a Fortune 500 company based in Seattle, opened its virtual doors on
the World Wide Web in July 1995 and today offers Earth's Biggest Selection.
Amazon.com seeks to be the world's most customer-centric company, where
customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online.
Amazon.com and sellers list millions of unique new and used items in categories
such as electronics, computers, kitchen and housewares, books, music, DVDs,
videos, camera and photo items, toys, baby and baby registry, software, computer
and video games, cell phones and service, tools and hardware, travel services,
magazine subscriptions and outdoor living items. Through Amazon Marketplace,
zShops and Auctions, any business or individual can sell virtually anything to
Amazon.com's millions of customers, and with Amazon.com Payments, sellers can
accept credit card transactions, avoiding the hassles of offline payments.
Amazon.com operates five international Web sites: www.amazon.ca,
www.amazon.co.uk, www.amazon.de, www.amazon.fr, and www.amazon.co.jp It also
operates the Internet Movie Database (www.imdb.com), the Web's comprehensive and
authoritative source of information on more than 300,000 movies and
entertainment titles and 1 million cast and crew members dating from the birth
of film.
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of
Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities
Exchange Act of 1934. Actual results may differ significantly from management's
expectations. These forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties
that include, among others, risks related to potential future losses,
significant amount of indebtedness, competition, strategic alliances and
business combinations, seasonality, potential fluctuations in operating results
and rate of growth, foreign currency exchange rates, management of potential
growth, system interruption, international expansion, consumer trends,
fulfillment center optimization, inventory, limited operating history,
government regulation and taxation, fraud and Amazon.com Payments, and new
business areas. More information about factors that potentially could affect
Amazon.com's financial results is included in Amazon.com's filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission, including its Annual Report on Form 10-K for
the year ended December 31, 2001 and all subsequent filings.
