SEATTLE - March 12, 2001 - - PAR3 Communications, Inc.™, a pioneer in Customer Participation Management and developer of the Intelligent Response Platform™, a breakthrough interactive alert and response system, today announced that Nokia Venture Partners is leading the company's $12 million second round of funding. Nokia Venture Partners joins Draper Fisher Jurvetson and Timberline Venture Partners, investors in PAR3's initial round of $5.7 million in May 2000. John Malloy, general partner at Nokia Venture Partners, will join PAR3's board of directors and Jonathan Ebinger, principal at Nokia Venture Partners, will be a member of PAR3's advisory board.

"PAR3 was founded by a team of seasoned entrepreneurs with extensive experience in the CRM and call center industries which gives them a significant competitive advantage in today's dynamic market," said John Malloy, general partner at Nokia Venture Partners. "With a strong set of top-tier customers and technology unparalleled in the industry, we believe PAR3 has the opportunity to capitalize on the high-growth market opportunities for multi-channel alert and response services."

PAR3's alert and response technology allows companies to leverage existing customer data retrieved from in-house CRM investments to further strengthen their relationships with customers. The solution delivers preemptive, highly detailed and actionable alerts however a customer chooses -- mobile or home phone, email, pager or wireless device. Companies such as Quicken Loans, Norm Thompson Outfitters, and Puget Sound Energy currently use the system to send preemptive, interactive alerts to their customers.

The power of the PAR3 service comes from the customers' ability to take action on the alerts. For instance, they can connect back to the business to speak with a customer service agent or automatically complete a transaction directly from the alert. Customers may also add personal comments and refer the alerts to others who can also immediately respond back to the business. By allowing customers to actively participate in a one-to-one relationship, businesses dramatically reduce unnecessary inbound contact, lower the cost of acquiring a new customer, and simultaneously increase loyalty and sales. In addition, businesses gain tremendous insight from customer responses and send even more relevant, personalized messages in the future.

"Companies would be wise to ensure that their personalization efforts provide demonstrable benefits to the consumers, that the customer gets as much value out of participating in the relationship as companies do," said Sharon Ward, director of Enterprise Business Applications for Hurwitz Group, a leading industry analyst firm. "One unique and compelling way to do this is through PAR3's preference-driven, multi-channel, actionable alerts."

"Nokia Venture Partners is an excellent strategic fit for PAR3," said Nicholas Tiliacos, chief executive officer and president of PAR3. "Analysts predict IT spending on CRM initiatives will continue to dramatically increase in the future. PAR3 is well positioned to lead the new segment of CRM that enables enterprises to elevate the ongoing dialog with their customers while delivering an immediate, measurable impact on the bottom line."

This second round of funding will enable PAR3 to scale infrastructure, expand marketing and sales programs, and staff development, support, marketing and sales teams.

About Nokia Venture Partners
Launched in 1998, Nokia Venture Partners is a leader in mobile Internet investments. Backed by Nokia, Goldman Sachs, CDBWebTech, BMC Software and others, the USD$500 million fund builds partnerships with leading edge wireless technology companies targeting high-growth market opportunities around the world. Nokia has invested in the fund with the intent to gain exposure to markets and technologies beyond the reach of Nokia's current business unit strategies. Nokia Venture Partners has a strong track record of leveraging the firm's combined resources, experience and contacts to help build successful businesses. For more information, visit www.nokiaventurepartners.com.

About Draper Fisher Jurvetson
Draper Fisher Jurvetson is a leading early stage information technology venture capital firm. Headquartered in Redwood City, California, Draper Fisher Jurvetson manages over $2 billion in committed capital and has developed a large network of highly successful Internet portfolio companies. Draper Fisher Jurvetson pursues a people/market/technology approach to venture capital investing, funding entrepreneurs with the energy, vision, experience and desire to build great companies. For more information about Draper Fisher Jurvetson see www.dfj.com.

About Timberline Venture Partners
Timberline Venture Partners, based in Portland, Oregon and Seattle, is an early-stage venture capital firm that focuses on making lead investments in West Coast information technology companies involved in Internet infrastructure, communications and software. Timberline managing partner Jeffrey C. Tung is a member of PAR3's board of directors. Timberline is an independently managed affiliate of Draper Fisher Jurvetson. Tim Draper, Draper Fisher Jurvetson's founder and managing director, is a Timberline general partner. Timberline's limited partners are well known institutional pension, insurance, endowment and fund-of-funds investors. For more information about Timberline visit www.timberlinevc.com.

About PAR3 Communications, Inc.
Seattle-based PAR3 Communications, Inc. is pioneering the next generation of CRM with its powerful Customer Participation Management solution. PAR3's innovative Intelligent Response Platform enables businesses and their customers to actively participate in their relationship through two-way communications. Businesses use PAR3 to leverage their rich enterprise-level customer data and exchange highly tailored alerts with their customers via telephone, email, pager, fax or wireless device - how and when the customer chooses. For more information, visit www.par3.com.