PARIS and SAN FRANCISCO, April 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- This partnership, the first of its kind, will expand the
reach of Wikimedia content through co-branded channels on Orange's mobile
and web portals

- The two partners will work together to develop new services
and features around content from Wikipedia, the flagship project of the
Wikimedia Foundation.

Orange and the Wikimedia Foundation today announced a wide-ranging
strategic partnership designed to mutually benefit each organization's users
by extending the way people can access free knowledge.

Orange, the European telco leader in internet audience ranking, with 55
million unique visitors per month*, will initially provide customers in
France, the UK, Spain and Poland with quick and simple access to co-branded
content from the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organization behind the
web encyclopedia Wikipedia. Partnership activities include:

- creating specific Wikipedia channels on Orange mobile and web portals

- enriching sections of the Orange web and mobile portals with links to
relevant Wikipedia information

- developing mobile and web-based widgets which enable customers to
access Wikipedia content directly from their Orange mobile or web homepage

Phase two of the agreement will see the two organisations cooperate to
create a range of simple but innovative new services drawing on Orange's
skills as a total communications provider across mobile, internet and
television. In addition, the partnership will be rolled out across the rest
of Orange's European footprint.

Commenting on the agreement, Paul-François Fournier, Executive Vice
President, Audience Line of Business, Orange, said: "At Orange we are
committed to giving people maximum access to the widest range of digital
technologies and to simplifying the way people use these technologies to
access information. By bringing our customers a new way to access content
from Wikipedia, one of the world's most recognised and popular internet
brands, we are delivering on this commitment."

"The Wikimedia Foundation is dedicated to spreading knowledge to as many
people as possible, in as many ways as possible," said Sue Gardner, Executive
Director of the Wikimedia Foundation. "Orange's leadership in mobile and
focus on innovation makes them an ideal partner to help us extend our reach.
The Foundation welcomes partnerships that help us carry out our mission and
that respect the valuable contributions of the Wikimedia community."

This partnership is part of Orange's strategy to provide the most popular
and compelling content to its customers and will increase the reach of
Wikimedia services, particularly in the European mobile market and at a time
when mobile internet usage is soaring. Through this partnership Orange is
also supporting the Wikimedia Foundation's core mission of enhancing and
expanding the reach of Wikipedia and other collaborative knowledge projects
to new users.

Learn more about the Orange Wikimedia partnership on video at
http://www.orange-innovation.tv/wikimedia.

*55 million unique visitors per month - comScore, February 2009

About Orange

http://www.orange.com/en_EN/group/

About the Wikimedia Foundation

The Wikimedia Foundation is the non-profit organization which operates
Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. According to comScore Media Metrix,
Wikipedia and the other projects operated by the Wikimedia Foundation receive
more than 300 million unique visitors per month, making them the 4th most
popular web property world-wide. Available in more than 265 languages,
Wikipedia contains more than 12 million articles contributed by a global
volunteer community of more than 100,000 people. Based in San Francisco,
California, the Wikimedia Foundation is an audited, 501(c)(3) charity that is
funded primarily through donations and grants.

http://www.wikimediafoundation.org