WOODLAND HILLS, Calif., Dec. 19, 2005 (PRIMEZONE) -- United Online, Inc. (Nasdaq:UNTD), a leading provider of consumer Internet subscription services, has raised $14,041 for Ronald McDonald House Charities(r) by auctioning off 10 specially created NetZero Voice "Long Distance for Life" accounts on eBay(r).
"With the holidays right around the corner, we saw an opportunity to provide people with a unique gift, long distance phone service for life, while benefiting a great charity partner and exposing people to Internet calling and what we think is a unique new product, NetZero Voice," said Matt Wisk, chief marketing officer, United Online, Inc.
The auction began Dec. 8th and concluded Sunday, December 18th. Each NetZero Voice "Long Distance for Life" features unlimited calling from the winner's computer to cell phones and landlines in the U.S., Canada and Puerto Rico as well as $200 per month of international calling.
"We appreciate all the support that United Online provides us," said Ken Barun, president and CEO of RMHC. "Every fundraising effort directly supports our ability to provide program services to the children and families that RMHC serves."
United Online has been the official Internet service provider for Ronald McDonald House Charities (RMHC(r)) since 2003. Roughly 80 percent of all Ronald McDonald Houses in the United States are equipped with complementary NetZero or Juno Internet access plans. United Online is in the process of equipping all 155 U.S.-based Ronald McDonald Houses with NetZero Voice service to enable families of ill children to stay connected with friends and family across the country for free during their stay.
NetZero Voice works with virtually any ISP service, dial-up or broadband, and can be quickly downloaded from www.netzerovoice.com and installed in just a few minutes. There are five value-priced NetZero Voice calling plans ranging from free to $14.95 per month. To sign up for a pay service, a U.S. billing address is required. All five plans include an assortment of premium features including:
-- Free voicemail with the NetZero Message Center -- Free NetZero email account -- Instant messaging capabilities -- Caller ID -- Call waiting -- Call blocking -- Unlimited calls to other NetZero Voice members worldwide
To sign up or for more information about NetZero Voice, please visit www.netzerovoice.com
The specific terms and conditions regarding this auction and the NetZero Voice service are available at the NetZero Voice area on www.eBay.com
About United Online
United Online, Inc. (Nasdaq:UNTD) is a leading provider of consumer Internet subscription services through a number of brands, including NetZero, NetZero Voice, Juno, and Classmates. The company's services include Internet access, social networking services, Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) calling plans, premium email, personal web hosting and domain services, and photo-sharing services. United Online is headquartered in Woodland Hills, CA, with offices in New York City, NY, Renton, WA, San Francisco, CA, Orem, UT, Munich, Germany, Jarfalla, Sweden, and Hyderabad, India. For more information about United Online and its Internet services, please visit http://www.untd.com.
About Ronald McDonald House Charities
Ronald McDonald House Charities, a non-profit, 501(c)(3) corporation, creates, finds and supports programs that directly improve the health and well-being of children. Its programs are grassroots-driven to enable the Charity to offer help where children need it most -- right in their own communities. RMHC makes an immediate, positive impact on children's lives through its global network of local Chapters in nearly 50 countries and its three core programs: the Ronald McDonald House, Ronald McDonald Family Room(TM) and Ronald McDonald Care Mobile(TM). RMHC and its global network of local Chapters have awarded more than $410 million in grants and program services to children's programs around the world. For more information, please visit www.rmhc.org