XPLAIN TO MANAGE ALL SPECIAL INTEREST PAVILIONS FOR MACWORLD CONFERENCE & EXPO

• MacTech Central, and Other Special Interest Areas Make Their Return
• Several New Market Segments Being Added

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, CA and FRAMINGHAM, MA -- May 1, 2002 -- Xplain Corporation, the leader in pavilion management, and IDG World Expo, the leading producer of world-class tradeshows, conferences and events for IT markets around the globe, announced today that Xplain will manage all of the pavilions at IDG World Expo's Macworld Conference & Expo, in both New York (July 15-19, 2002), and in San Francisco (January 6-10, 2003). Special interest areas and pavilions allow exhibitors to target attendees interested in particular technology categories.

Macworld Conference & Expo is the world's most comprehensive Macintosh OS event. The upcoming Macworld Conference & Expo will take place July 15-19, 2002 at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in New York City.

The Special Interest Pavilions, including Xplain's long running MacTech Central(sm), have long featured both up-and-coming companies, as well as showcased technologies. These pavilions provide exhibiting companies with a cost-effective, turnkey method to reach their target audiences face-to-face without requiring a large staff or display. In turn, attendees with particular interests can experience first-hand the very latest Macintosh technology for specific market segments in a cohesive setting.

In addition to the many returning special interest pavillions such as MacTech Central, Xplain and IDG World Expo are adding a number of new market focuses for the upcoming shows. In all, the following markets will be represented in the shows' pavilions:

Macworld Conference & Expo is the premier Macintosh community event. The special interest pavilions, including MacTech Central, are a focal point at the Expo for Macworld attendees seeking out technologies and solutions in a specific market segment." said Neil Ticktin, CEO of Xplain Corporation. "With a mission focused on serving the specific communities, these pavilions have vendors of all types and sizes showcasing the best the Mac has to offer."

Special interest pavilions will entice attendees to test the increasing number of hot, new products and applications at Macworld Conference and Expo, as they meet the experts behind the technologies," said Rob Scheschareg, vice president of sales, marketing and product development at IDG World Expo. "We are excited that Xplain will be managing our special interest areas. They created our most successful pavilion to date with MacTech Central, and now other segments of the Mac community can also benefit from their expertise."

Station packages start at $2,995 and vary according to area and applicable discounts. For more information, contact:

About MacTech Magazine

Established in 1984, MacTech Magazine is the only monthly magazine focused on Macintosh technology and development. Distributed in 64 countries, MacTech is read by tens of thousands of programmers, solution providers, and people everywhere that want to understand what's under the hood of Macintosh. In addition to the premier news and information vehicle for web, networking and content coverage, MacTech continues to include several regular columns, industry news, conference reports, product reviews, a broad range of languages and environments, the latest in shortcuts and insider secrets, advertisements specifically for Macintosh techies. Full source code listings available on the World Wide Web, disk, and CD-ROM. See www.mactech.com for more information.

About Xplain Corporation

Xplain Corporation has three divisions -- publishing, mail order and custom services. The publishing division includes MacTech(r) Magazine, and THINK Reference(tm). The mail order division operates DevDepot(r) and RadGad(sm). Custom Services provides turnkey production services for publishers, and tradeshow services including turnkey pavilions and onsite management. Founded in 1984, the company has its offices in Westlake Village, CA. See www.xplain.com for more information.

About Macworld Conference & Expo

Owned and produced by Framingham Mass.-based IDG World Expo, Macworld Conference & Expo is the world's most comprehensive Macintosh OS event. Macworld Conference & Expo showcases products and services for professionals involved in media and creative content development for corporate and home applications, as well as consumers using the Mac at home. Macworld Conference & Expo brings together the loyal base of Mac OS audiences in creative services, education, application development, entertainment, small office/home office and Internet-based environments. Macworld Conference & Expo offers professionals and consumers alike the opportunity to discover the latest developments and hottest products these markets offer. For more information, please visit the Web site at www.macworldexpo.com.

About IDG World Expo

IDG World Expo (www.idgworldexpo.com) produces IT-focused tradeshows, conferences and events for professionals seeking world-class education, peer-to-peer networking and one-stop comparison shopping. As the leading IT event management company, IDG World Expo leverages its experience and knowledge of IT-focused events and conferences, enabling technology companies to capture the attention and loyalty of influential buyers. IDG World Expo's portfolio of conferences and events includes Macworld Conference & Expo, LinuxWorld Conference & Expo, BioITWorld Conference & Expo and COMNET Conference & Expo. IDG World Expo is a business unit of IDG, the world's leading technology media, research and event company.

About IDG

IDG publishes more than 300 magazines and newspapers and offers online users the largest network of technology-specific sites around the world through IDG.net (www.idg.net), which comprises more than 330 targeted Web sites in 80 countries. IDG is also a leading producer of 168 computer-related events worldwide, and IDG's research company, IDC, provides global market intelligence and advice through 51 offices in 43 countries. Company information is available at www.idg.com.