PAYNOVA MICROPAYMENTS GROW WITH ONLINE GAMING

Paynova AB has agreed with gaming development company Mindark PE AB to expand Paynova’s payment handling for the company’s online mass gaming. For the past year, Project Entropia, with over 110,000 players, has been generating income for Paynova through inward and outward payments in the game. Now Paynova’s role will be significantly greater, as it will also handle micropayments internally between players, while they are playing and are in the playing environment. Online gaming is growing rapidly. It has enormous volume potential, and is expected to turn over 1.8 billion dollars next year.

Project Entropia is an example of what is known as a “massive multiplayer online role-playing game” (MMORPG), in which millions of players can take part simultaneously. The most successful games have achieved tens of millions of paying participants. This games market is expected to turn over 1 billion US dollars in 2004 and is predicted by IDC to have an annual growth rate of over 70 per cent over the next five years. The trend is for increasing numbers of ordinary computer game users who play alone to discover a sense of community and personal development in MMORPG games.

“Paynova’s solution is an efficient way for us to manage the large numbers of small payments. Previously we have had several procedures for handling the game’s internal currency, PED, and explained the differences between payment systems,” says Jan Welter Timkrans, CEO of Mindark PE AB. “We emphasise the obvious benefits of using Paynova. It’s easy to put money in using a credit card, it works quickly and it’s secure. What’s new is that players can carry out immediate micropayments inside the virtual world; they don’t need to halt the game, pay and then start the game up again. This will increase turnover.”

Project Entropia is a role-playing game made for millions of participants, who play in a virtual universe with a real economy. The software is constantly growing and is distributed free of charge over the network by Mindark PE AB. Players take part via the Internet through a three-dimensional identity on the planet Calypso. The game takes place in real time, 24 hours a day, and the player takes part in adventures, builds up the community and tries to earn money. Money is used in the game to invest in the player’s own development on the planet and may grow in value. The game currency is called the Project Entropia Dollar (PED), which is bought and sold via the Paynova Wallet.

“Our work on adapting the Paynova Wallet for Gaming is turning out well,” says Paynova’s CEO Pelle Hjortblad. “We value Mindark’s confidence in us. It will show the rest of the gaming industry that we are well ahead when it comes to adapted payment solutions. We hope that Project Entropia will grow into a multi-million user game and that our payment solution is able to assist in that. Until now game developers have needed to create games for credit card payments, which are unable to handle micropayments. Paynova has solved this problem.”

For further information. please contact:

For further information. please contact: Mats Jonnerhag, PR and information, Paynova AB

Cell: +46 (0) 708-754 920

Email: mats.jonnerhag@paynova.com

Pelle Hjortblad, CEO Paynova AB

Cell: +46 (0)701-810 110 Phone: +46 (0)8-517 100 07

Email: pelle.hjortblad@paynova.com

www.project-entropia.com

About Paynova

Paynova AB, listed on NGM Equity on 26 February 2004, is a company specialising in secure online payments. The Paynova Wallet is a digital wallet for digital transactions that can handle amounts from 5 pence and up. The digital wallet enables the customer to manage and control purchases limiting his/her personal credit card or eBanking information to only one counterpart. The Paynova Wallet is easy to acquire and use, and simple for the merchant to install. More than 20 000 banks worldwide accept the Paynova solution for VISA and MasterCard payments. Since its launch in 2001, Paynova AB has signed agreements with more than 500 companies and organisations that now offer the Paynova Wallet as a payment option on their websites. Pelle Hjortblad is the CEO of Paynova. The full Paynova share prospectus can be found at www.paynova.com