LavaLife Scores Huge Licensing Deal with ICQ

(onlinedatingmagazine.com - January 6, 2004) LavaLife Inc., has secured an exclusive worldwide partnership with ICQ(R) ("I Seek You"), a world-leading online communications community and international service from America Online, Inc.

Under the agreement, LavaLife will become the exclusive provider of personals content and advertising across the ICQ worldwide network, which has more than 160 million registered users. LavaLife's ability to help singles embrace online dating will be showcased across ICQ's broad range of communities including Family & Friends, Romance, White Pages, Search, Students, and Lifestyles, enabling users to reach other online daters in real-time through ICQ's core messaging technology. In addition, LavaLife will be integrated within ICQ's messaging technology to enable ICQ members to instant message with likeminded singles.

"This partnership is a natural step for both companies not only because the ICQ and Lavalife user-bases are similar in age, interests, and needs, but because our companies both have similar missions to connect people in an instant," said Paul Gallucci, Chief Operating Officer of LavaLife. "We are confident that members of ICQ will embrace LavaLife's fun, flirty online dating services, and that the experience of singles connecting will be enhanced through instant messaging technology."

ICQ and LavaLife will also launch custom localized personals sites available through the ICQ worldwide network. Such sites will rollout globally beginning this month. The sites will be tailored to the specific needs of each individual culture, while maintaining the urban look and feel of LavaLife.

"It is good for ICQ and its user community to partner with a category leader like LavaLife to bring dating services to market internationally," said Ed Fish, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Desktop Messaging, America Online, Inc. "We look forward to expanding our dating communities to include LavaLife's premier personals content and services, along with the attributes of real time messaging and presence."