hi5 Launching New Community-Driven Translation Program

· Enables avid members to help translate the hi5 service into more languages spoken around the world — making hi5 more accessible to more of their friends

· Combines collective intelligence and enthusiasm of hi5’s international membership, with contextual translation tools and professional support

· Plans for 30 new hi5 languages by year’s end, adding to 23 already available

San Francisco, CA; May 28, 2008 – One of the world’s largest and fastest-growing social networks, hi5, has announced the launch of a new community-driven translation program that will enable users to make hi5 more accessible across the globe. The program will also empower users to translate their favorite applications on hi5 to help meet the language needs of third-party developers and to expand opportunities for members to interact within the hi5 community.

“We envision that this program will help hi5 to become meaningful to even more people around the world,” says hi5 Founder and CEO, Ramu Yalamanchi. “We are particularly excited that it enables our users to drive the translation process and deliver an authentic voice to our service, while keeping a high level of quality in the translation.”

While supporting hi5 users, the new translation program will also further strengthen hi5’s leadership in social networking localization. Currently, hi5 is the #3 social network globally (as measured by unique monthly visitors per comScore), and has 23 language options (a social networking record, according to Mashable.com). By providing a localized user experience, hi5 has become the #1 social network in more than 25 nations across Latin America, Europe, Asia and Africa.

How the Program Works
hi5’s new approach to translations empowers its users to easily and quickly expand the hi5 language offering. The program also includes input from Lionbridge (NASDAQ: LIOX), the leading provider of translation and localization services, and hi5’s own localization team, to ensure translations meet high standards for quality.

• Identification of translation needs and the creation of language communities and glossaries
• Translation of hi5 service words by the members of the language communities (with peer ranking/editing)
• Quality review/approval of completed translations, and subsequent roll-out of new hi5 language options

From start to finish, an entire translation can be done in a matter of weeks. hi5 has dedicated localization experts to monitor the progress of the program and provide service support to volunteer translators. Lionbridge will be involved in the program by creating glossaries, helping to moderate language communities, and joining hi5 in conducting quality assurance before a translation is added to the language menu for hi5’s more than 80 million members worldwide.

“hi5’s new community program extends our long-standing relationship and reflects the growing demand for user-generated content to complement traditional translation services,” said Rory Cowan, CEO, Lionbridge. “As social networking sites expand and evolve, the global community is integral to the rapid growth of this market. Working together, Lionbridge, hi5 and the hi5 community will continue to broaden the social network’s global reach while ensuring quality and efficiency.”

Program Plans & Early Excitement
hi5 began a phased rollout of its new translation tool last week. By the end of 2008, hi5 anticipates the new program will help launch at least 30 new language options, including new dialects of Spanish, numerous European languages, a handful of Middle Eastern languages, several Indian languages and more. Ultimately, this new translation approach may make hi5 available in potentially hundreds of new languages, including multiple dialects for common languages as well as under-served native languages.

“I'm really full of admiration to this site that one day drove me to request hi5 team to have Khmer in [its] language list,” said one hi5 member in Cambodia when asked if she’d be interested in using the upcoming translation tool. “It would be my pleasure to make everybody here…especially Khmer…fully enjoy [hi5] with their language.”

Later this summer, hi5 will release a tool that will enable users to translate third-party developers’ applications into multiple new languages. Today, developers rely on their own resources to localize their applications.

"We've found that millions of sports and TV fans around the world like to connect with other fans inside their favorite social networks. hi5's new translation tool will help us reach out more effectively to fans everywhere, from futbol fans in Mexico, to Grey’s Anatomy fanatics in Dubai," says Kevin Chou, CEO of Watercooler, Inc., which has launched 220 TV and sports applications on hi5 to date.

More Information
To join hi5 and create a free member profile, please visit www.hi5.com. hi5 users interested in joining a translation project, or who want to suggest a new language for the program, may visit the hi5 Language Forum to learn more.

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